Caramelized Walnut Pear Salad

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A simple yet delightful and beautiful Caramelized Walnut Pear Salad. Just try not to eat all the walnuts before making the salad!

Caramelized Walnut Pear Salad

This post was originally published in June 2015 then updated in 2018. I have taken new photos and slightly altered the recipe. The blog post itself remains unchanged. 

You may or may not agree but in my book, there is something more essential and fascinating in a food blog than its recipes. Sure, posting recipes are its objective. But the way you introduce them – your style – it’s something that makes the difference. Furthermore, what kind of person you are, what kind of chef you are and how did you end up being a food blogger – that’s the really fascinating stuff to me! If you’re looking for a recipe, you can just grab a cooking book. If you’re looking for a story or feelings behind this recipe, you’re welcome to a food blog! That’s why I’ve decided to start a new series of posts called Revelations where I’m going to narrate about some my biographical facts (how did I start cooking), about what kind of chef am I (definitely I will disclose why it’s ‘havoc in the kitchen’), and even about some personal characteristics which determine who I am in life. So far, I’ve come up with 6 topics, but I think there will be about 10 or even more.

That’s surprising how one person could be different in their professional field and at home! Indeed, your education and profession could affect you or reflect your personality. That’s not happening in my case. Or that’s very deceiving.

For instance, my husband, being an auditor and accountant, acts the same way at home. He’s always working on calculating and analyzing our budget, collecting and organizing all the receipts, and controlling how many new kitchen props have I bought. Yup, such a demanding guy!

As for me, my field is related to records and archives, and thus, I’ve got to be accurate and organized. And I am. But only at work – I don’t know why. At home, some kind of an ongoing havoc is happening on my desk (sometimes around and under as well). A little disaster often happens in our closet. I keep telling it’s so because I don’t have enough clothes to wear, but I’ve got a feeling that’s not the solid argument. No, I DO love the nice ambiance and all the things kept nicely and according to their order, and I regularly care about that. I just don’t know how this disorder happens, just in no time. Perhaps, I’m experiencing blackouts.

And now the kitchen, with cooking and all my props for food photography. You should understand I’m quite exaggerating, but that’s around the truth. That’s going to be another post next time though (oh, spoiler!)

I’d like to concentrate on the issue of time. Being always precise with all my deadlines at work, I have a really hectic life in the kitchen and being procrastinating at the same time. I can plan to make a dish for a long time and then, all of the sudden, get my plans changed. Or I can have a kick on a particular food and, as a result, postpone incorporating and skip some lovely seasonal things, and this is quite sad, honestly.

For example, last year I almost screwed the season of rhubarb. Even though we had been having it in the garden since mid of May, I made the first serious dish using it only in July (it was a salad dressing). The way too late. That wasn’t the right feeling either since I had asked my husband to grow it but wasn’t fully enjoying the results of his work. The same thing happened to some edible flowers which we had been having since June, but I managed to start using them only in August when they almost began to wilt. It was a bit different issue – I just wasn’t sure where I could incorporate them.  Anyways, I do regret to have missed them as well.

I’ll be much better this summer. I will definitely be oblivious of using some seasonal produce, but that won’t be happening with rhubarb and edible flowers. That’s already the better version of me. We can’t be always impeccable anyways, right?

This summer we’ve got a colossal amount of comestible flowers. I have personally searched the Internet, and provided Andrew with a large list of those flowers I would love to see. I’m so happy now he didn’t find all of them but only 4 kinds because I don’t know what to do with all these blossoming beauties (right now we are having two of them and the next two are about to start blossoming):)

But if seriously, edible flowers are the great way to spruce up even a simple salad or any other dish! Often not having any strong flavors, they introduce a lot of vibrant colors and make any dish look the way better. And don’t forget that you can make only one salad over and over just garnishing it with the different flowers and saying every time it is a totally different one. Legit, right?

So, don’t put off using some gorgeous flowers in all your meals. In a meanwhile, I will be helping you with some ways to incorporate them.

Here we go – a simple yet lovely salad with pears, walnuts, and pansies. I was going to add some goat cheese, but that never happened. Go for it -goat cheese, feta or even some blue cheese will be the great addition.

What’s your favorite way of using edible flowers, folks?