Roasted gorgonzola pears with farro salad -

Tell me, do you always bring your own bags to the store when you go grocery shopping?

If not, then why not?
I always have one or two cotton bags in my purse and I also try to keep a bigger grocery bag in the back of my car. As long as I can remember I carry the cotton bags in my purse and I not only use them for unexpected grocery shopping.

What to think of the small items you buy when you go out shopping?
So many times I have to tell the cashier that I don’t need a bag because I brought my own. It’s so bad for the environment to accept the plastic ánd paper bags they automatically hand out at stores. That’s why I’m glad LA is banning plastic bags now! No more plastic bags at the supermarket! And you pay 10 cents for paper bags. Perfect!

I hope that will people make more aware of these ridiculous bags. The first weeks in LA I was shocked they give you one (1!!) plastic bag fo each two or three (2 or 3!!) items at the grocery store. And they even sometimes use two (2!!) plastic bags for one (1!!) heavy item, like a bottle of laundry detergent. Because oh my, what if that bag would break?
So in the end you would easily end up with eight (8!!) plastic bags after one trip to the supermarkt.

But luckily I brought a big shopping bag from Amsterdam. I loved the bag, it was a jute shopping bag with big handles so I could carry it over my shoulder. While grocery shopping I got many questions where the bag was from, even from a woman who came running towards me when she saw me and my bag at the other end of the aisle! 😀
But I got the bag at a great restaurant in Amsterdam, Wilde Zwijnen (‘Wild boars’) and the bag had their logo on it.

Two months ago the bag breathed its last air out after using frequently for 1.5 year, the handle broke and bag was ripped 🙁 But Wilde Zwijnen sent me a new bag, how sweet! We definitively have to eat there again when we’re visiting Amsterdam. And you should too if you’re ever in Amsterdam, I love the restaurant!

And happy me, I can carry lots of groceries in one bag again. First thing up was buying pears, gorgonzola, pecans, farro and lots of chicken. I made these roasted gorgonzola pears with farro salad when P was out of town for work. Gorgonzola and goat cheese all week for me because he doesn’t like it. For you that means: expect a delicious goat cheese sandwich this Thursday! 😉

But first, enjoy the roasted gorgonzola pears with farro salad!

Roasted gorgonzola pears with farro salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Serving Size: Serves 2 for dinner and 4 for lunch

Roasted gorgonzola pears with farro salad

Sweet roasted pears topped with salty and a little spicy gorgonzola cheese. I could eat this salad every day!

Ingredients

for the pears

1 cup pecans
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp brown sugar
pinch of salt
2 pears
2 oz gorgonzola

for the salad

½ cup farro
4 cups spinach
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups leftover grilled chicken (or replace with turkey breast)

for the dressing

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
½ tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp dijon mustard
pinch of salt
croutons for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and toast the pecans. Toss them for 1-2 minutes until they start to brown. Add the maple syrup, brown sugar and pinch of salt and stir until all the pecans are coated and the sugar starts to melt.
Transfer to a baking sheet to cool off.
Slice the pears in halves and use a spoon to scoop out the core. Place the pears in an ovenproof skillet and crumble the gorgonzola in the wells. Place the skillet in the preheated oven and bake the pears 20-25 minutes until soft and warm.
In the meantime, cook the farro (10 minutes for Trader Joe’s farro) until tender.
Toss the cooked farro with the spinach, the onion and grilled chicken and make a dressing from the olive oil, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard and salt.
Season the salad with the dressing and take the pears out of the oven.
Coarsely chop the pecans and divide them over the pears.
Serve the pears over the salad and garnish with croutons.

http://www.inmyredkitchen.com/roasted-gorgonzola-pears-with-farro-salad/

Enjoy!