Mesculun and Fresh Pear Salad (p. 7)

To go with the chicken and yams, I did the fresh pear salad. This is partly because I didn't want to do a hot veg, and partly because I am a sucker for pear and brie combos. The dressing has a cup of blackberries, and is good and flavourful, while being fairly light (largely due to the high fruit to vinegar ratio, I think). I used blueberry vinegar, which worked well, though once that's gone, I guess I'll probably have to use white wine if I make this salad again. In typical Rebar fashion, there was way too much dressing for the actual amount of salad required for 6 people - we finished the large tub of mesculun over the week, and STILL have some dressing left over. I used walnuts and pumpkin seeds instead of hazel nuts, because I forgot to put hazel nuts on the grocery list, and they worked quite well. Since the salad was being served as a side along with the main meal, instead of ahead of it, I just did it in a big bowl, rather than plating it individually, as recommended in the recipe. I would definitely make this one again! Three stars and 1 bar.