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THE DAIRY KITCHEN

Warm Pumpkin and Pear Salad with Blue Cheese Bechamel

By Natalie Zee - Healthy Natty

Serves 4
Difficulty Medium
Preparation 30 MINS
Cooking 15 MINS
Healthy Natty has developed this unusual salad for The Dairy Kitchen with a stunning combination of textures, flavours and temperatures, it's an interesting change from the usual and is the kind of salad you could turn into a meal!

Ingredients

Salad

500g of pumpkin, sliced thickly
3 pears, sliced
3 small pita breads
1 cup grated good quality parmesan cheese
1 cup walnuts, toasted
100g rocket, washed and dried
1/4 red onion, finely sliced
2 tablespoons of dried cranberries
3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
15-20 sage leaves (optional)
2 tablespoons butter (optional)

Blue Cheese Bechamel

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup plain flour
2 cups milk
100g good quality Australian blue cheese (the sharper, the better)

Method

The Salad

  1. Place the sliced onions, cranberries and vinegar into a small bowl or mug. Mix well, and set aside, covered, for at least 15 minutes.
  2. Grease a griddle pan and bring to a medium heat. Cook the pumpkin slices until tender and charred lines are visible on both sides.
  3. Repeat the process with the pear slices (note the pears will cook a lot faster).
  4. Meanwhile, under a medium grill, toast one side of the pita breads. Once golden, turn the pita breads and sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the other side. Cook under the grill under the cheese is bubbling and golden. Remove and set aside.
  5. Place a non-stick saucepan over medium heat and add butter, a drizzle of olive oil and the sage leaves. Fry the sage leaves until they’re crisp, and the butter begins to brown. Remove, draining momentarily on paper towel before setting aside.
  6. To assemble the salad, drain the onion and cranberry mix of any excess vinegar and toss through the rocket along with half the walnuts.
  7. Arrange the parmesan pita, pumpkin and pears on a large serving plate (or individual plates) and top with the rocket mixture.
  8. Spoon the blue cheese béchamel generously over the salad and top with remaining walnuts and crispy sage leaves.

BLUE CHEESE BECHAMEL

  1. Heat the olive oil and flour in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until a dough ball is formed.
  2. Allow the mix to sizzle and cook, moving around with your spoon, for 1-2 minutes.
  3. Turn the heat down to low. Slowly begin to add the milk, about half a cup at a time, stirring vigorously to remove any lumps.
  4. Keep adding and stirring until all the milk is added and the mixture is smooth (if you’re having trouble, whizz it with a stick blender).
  5. Bring the mix to a simmer.
  6. Once bubbles start appearing on the top, crumble the blue cheese in and turn the heat down as low as possible. Stir until the blue cheese has melted through. Turn off the heat and serve immediately. 

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