Arugula & Pear Salad with Lemon Parmigiana Dressing

I recently realized that when my hubby eats my typical boring salads covered in an array of veggies, he says that he doesn't have the same love for vegetables that I do.  He picks over the 20 different veggies that I throw into them, and moves right onto our main course.  However, when we're out at our favorite restaurants, he always enjoys their salad specials.  So I started thinking about some of my favorite salads, and realized that I have to be much more thoughtful with flavor combinations in order to produce something really exciting.

Inspired by many well-loved restaurant salads, here is my new favorite mix:

Salad Ingredients:

• 4 packed cups of arugula
• 1 bosc pear, thinly sliced
• 1 small block of parmigiana (for shaving onto the salad and grating into the dressing)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts

 

Dressing Ingredients:

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove of garlic, grated or finely minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp. grated parmigiana
• 1 tsp. chopped parsley and lemon thyme
• garlic salt and pepper

In a small bowl, whisk all of the dressing ingredients.  Pour the mixture over the arugula, pear and pine nuts, and toss carefully.  Top with shaved parmigiana (a vegetable peeler works perfectly for this).

While there is certainly no science to creating your favorite salad, I think that adding a sweet element to the strong arugula is a great pairing.  Also, you can never go wrong by investing in some good quality cheese.

Enjoy!