Pears On Watercress and Soy Cheese with Poppy Seed Dressing

Some varieties of pears are coming into season now, so we took the chance to enjoy this lovely salad. It is a delicious mixture of flavors with the sweet pears, the piquant soy cheese and watercress. The poppy seed dressing brings it all together.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the salad:

• 4 ripe pears
• 4 ounces soy cheese, shaved
• 4 ounces fresh watercress, washed and separated from the stems
• bowl of water with a splash of lemon juice

for the dressing:

• 3 tablespoons white wine, raspberry or white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon walnut oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• pinch salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Make the salad dressing.
2. Place the ingredients in a small salad carafe and mix well.
3. Clean the watercress and separate from the thick stems.
4. Arrange the watercress on 4 plates.
5. Shave the cheese.
6. Prepare a bowl of water with a generous splash of lemon juice.
7. Peel the pears and slice, cutting away the core.
8. Place the sliced pears into the bowl of lemon water, this is to prevent browning of the pears.
9. Shortly before serving the salad, remove the pears from the lemon water and arrange the pears on the 4 salad plates.
10. Evenly divide the soy cheese over the pears and drizzle the salad dressing on top.