Rocket, Pear, and Walnut Salad

This rocket, pear and walnut salad is fresh, tasty and healthy. It has peppery rocket leaves, crispy and crunchy pears, and toasted walnuts.

It’s topped with shaved parmesan and tangy balsamic reduction. This simple salad is a powerhouse of flavour and vitamins.

Rocket, also known as arugula or roquette is a leafy green with a peppery flavour and slightly nutty taste. It’s an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K, and calcium and brings heaps of flavours and nutrients to this salad.

There are more healthy ingredients too! It’s coupled with juicy pear, salty parmesan, and crunchy walnuts – this salad is a myriad of textures and a perfect combination of flavours.

It’s all brought together with a simple salad dressing made of good quality olive oil and balsamic reduction.

This pear walnut salad makes a perfect side dish for your main course.

What is balsamic reduction?

A balsamic reduction (otherwise known as a balsamic glaze) is simply balsamic vinegar that has been reduced down into a glaze. This concentrates the flavours, brings out the natural sweetness, and slightly thickens the vinegar. It’s delicious on a salad!

You can buy store-bought balsamic reduction, or make your own. See how to make the balsamic reduction. It’s delicious on salad and roasted vegetables like cabbage!

If you don’t have balsamic reduction and you don’t want to make your own, you can use balsamic vinegar instead. This brings a sharper taste to the salad.

The salad ingredients

Here is what you need for this easy rocket pear salad recipe. You only need a handful of ingredients! The actual amounts are listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Rocket leaves/arugula leaves. Choose baby rocket leaves if you can, these more delicate leaves are milder and slightly sweeter than a mature rocket leaf, with only a slight peppery flavour. You can also swap the rocket for baby spinach leaves if you don’t want any pepperiness at all.
• Pears – Any variety of fresh sweet pears can go in this salad but choose pears that are still crisp and avoid over-ripe pears as they tend to be mushy. You want the crisp texture of the pear. Varieties like Beurre bosc pears, comice pears, and bartlett pears are a more crunchy pear variety, perfect for this salad. The sweetness of the pear is amazing with the peppery rocket.
• Walnuts – gently toasted, crunchy walnut halves bring great texture and the nuttiness of the walnuts pairs well with the juicy pears.
• Parmesan cheese – If you’re a cheese lover you’ll know how good parmesan is in a salad! Shaved parmesan brings saltiness to the salad. Salty goat cheese or fried halloumi works well if you prefer a different cheese.
• Extra virgin olive oil – Good quality extra-virgin olive oil helps lift the other flavours in the salad.
• Balsamic reduction
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Wash the rocket leaves and cool water and place them in a colander or a salad spinner to drain. If you have no salad spinner, gently pat the leaves dry with a clean kitchen towel.

Add the rocket leaves to a large serving bowl.

In a dry skillet over medium heat, add the walnuts and gently toast them for 4-5 minutes until toasted and slightly fragrant. Let them cool to room temperature.

Wash the pears, core them and use a sharp knife or mandolin cut them into thin slices. There is no need to peel them unless you want to. Spread the pear slices over the rocket leaves.

Thinly shave strips of parmesan cheese using a vegetable peeler. Add these to the salad, followed by the cooled walnuts.

In a small glass jar, add the balsamic reduction and olive oil. Add a lid to the jar and give it a shake to combine the oil and vinegar. Don’t worry if it doesn’t properly combine, it’s just enough to drizzle the two over the salad evenly.

Use salad tongs to gently toss the salad together to coat everything in the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste

Serving the rocket side salad

Once the salad is dressed, it’s best to serve it as soon as possible to avoid the rocket wilting. Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Making in advance

This salad is very quick to whip up so there isn’t much advantage to making it ahead of time, though there are some components that can be pre-prepared.

• If you are making your own balsamic reduction you will need around 15 minutes to make it and let it cool.
• Toast the walnuts ahead of time.
• The rocket leaves can be washed and dried ahead of time. Once dried, store them in a sealed bag or airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Don’t cut the pear ahead of time as it will oxidize. If you do need to cut it in advance, sprinkle over a little lemon juice to stop it from browning.

Other uses for rocket/arugula

Eat rocket raw in salads, toss through pasta, or add into pestos and sauces. It has a distinctly peppery flavour, which makes it a good substitute for basil in pesto.

Rocket is also an excellent pizza topping – just make sure to add it after the pizza has come from the oven because it tends to burn easily. When you’re looking for something easy to eat on the go, rocket works well in sandwiches and omelettes too.

More salad recipes

Try these other salad recipes!

• Vietnamese noodle salad
• Roasted potato salad with green herb dressing
• Roasted tomato couscous salad

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