pera / pear

The fruit of the pero (pear tree) has always been one of my favorite foods. Una pera succosa (a juicy pear) is a joy to eat. I also like pere cotte (cooked pears) with baking being my favorite cooking method. My mother sometimes baked a whole pan of pears, unpeeled and placed upright in a few tablespoons of water and seasoned with just a sprinkling of sugar (zucchero).

While a dish of pere cotte is a delicious offering, essere una pera cotta (to be like a cooked pear) is not really a good thing: it means to be weak, flabby, un rammollito. Cascare come una pera cotta (to fall like a cooked pear) has three different meanings, depending on the context:

• to fall into a deep sleep
• to fall head over heels in love
• to fall for, be deceived by something

I am head over heels in love with pears paired with radicchio and pecans (which in Italian are called noci pecan). There is no falling asleep nor deception in this case, since I am using pere crude (raw). There is also no caramelizing of the pecans, but a simple toasting on a dry pan for a few minutes. I should probably write the recipe for this pear and radicchio salad properly, starting from the ingredients:

• 2 pears of your choice, ripe but not soft, peeled (if necessary), cored and sliced
• 1 small head of radicchio, cut into bite-size pieces
• 5-6 oz baby spinach
• 1/4 cup pecans, lightly toasted as described above and chopped
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Gather the first four ingredients in a salad bowl. In a small saucepan, heat vinegar and oil over low heat until they are hot, then pour over the salad and toss. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once. Multiply or divide or otherwise adjust the quantities given to accommodate your taste and the number of people around the table. The photo shows the salad the day after I prepared it, because the photos I took the same day were not nice. I like one-day-old salad and this one was no exception, though as a photo subject it is not as appealing as a freshly-made one.

This is my entry for the September edition of Heart of the Matter, a heart-healthy event hosted collaboratively by Ilva of Lucullian Delights' fame and Joanna of Joanna's Food's fame on the Heart of the Matter blog. The topic for this month is fruit and berries. Here's the round-up of HotM #7, compliments of Ilva.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post: 

pera

or launch the pera audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

Comments

[Kevin]

I have a soft spot for my mom's canned pears. And pear pie. Pears are my #1 favorite fruit. I have to make some pear pie...

[ilva]

This is truly brilliant, Simona! What a great entry, thanks a lot!

[Maryann]

Simona, I like the dish you made with the pears. They seem to go well with balsamic vinegar.

[Simona Carini]

Hi Kevin. My mother used to make canned pears too, and pear juice. Pear pie: it's a great idea. I just made an apple one (sort of).

You are welcome, Ilva.

Hi Maryann. I think the pairing worked well.

[Valli]

This salad would make such great use of local pears available at the moment. Love the balsamic vinbegar in the dressing as well!!

[fabdo]

Simona again same frequency...
"I always fall like a pear"
(nella terza che hai detto) ^_^

[Simona Carini]

You are absolutely right, Valli. And it is fun to try and make it with different types of pears.

You are right, Fabdo, same frequency. anther thought: if we never let ourselves fall, we would never fall in love, or fall asleep and dream.

[Susan from Food Blogga]

I too adore ripe pears in salads, especially with bitter lettuces such as endive and radicchio and sweet candied nuts. I've never baked with them though; I should give it a try, shouldn't I?

[Simona Carini]

Hi Susan. Endive also sounds good. I just came back from the farmers' market and bought a bunch of pears to make baking experiments: I think we should give it a try.

[Katie]

Lovely salad! I still have a few pears sitting left from this years harvest!