Roasted Pears and Blue Cheese Salad

Great winter salad, especially when all you can find are hard-rock pears! The key to this recipe is to roast in a HOT oven, otherwise you'll have mushy pears.Recipes comes from America's Test Kitchen! Note: I've yet to achieve an all over browness on the pears, but still good!

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup maple syrup
• 1  tablespoon  grated fresh ginger
• 3  firm pears (preferably Bartlett)
•  salt & pepper
• 1  head bibb lettuce
• 2  bunches watercress, stems removed (or arugala)
• 1  cup blue cheese, crumbled

• Vinaigrette

• 2  tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1  small shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
• 3  tablespoons  extra-virgin  oil

Directions

1. Place foil lined baking sheet on lower-middle rack of oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.
2. Wisk togther the maple syrup and ginger.
3. Peel,core and quarter the pears lengthwise.
4. Toss the pears with 3 tablespoons of the syrup mixture (reserve the rest for the dresssing:
5. Spread the pears in a single layer on the preheated baking pan and season with salt and pepper.
6. Roast until browned on the bottom, about 15 minutes.
7. Flip each slice and roast until tender and deep golden brown, about 5 minutes.
8. Let the pears cool on the baking sheet while assembling salad.
9. Vinaigrette:
10. Whisk together the vinegar, shallots; and salt and pepper to taste, to the remaining syrup mixture.
11. Salad:
12. Combine the lettuce and watercress in a large serving bowl.
13. Gently toss with the vinaigrette.
14. Scatter the pears and blue cheese on the top.
15. NOTE: Pears can be roasted up to 3 hours in adance but DO NOT refrigerate, keep at room temperature.