Pear, Proscuitto & Gorgonzola salad

I love this salad !!! Proscuitto, pears, and balsamic vinegar and gorgonzola.... this flavors will stay in your taste bud memory ! The nice satly parmesan crisp is a wonderful addition. I serve the salad in the Parmesan crisp ( called frico in Italian) but you can serve it on the side.

THE INGREDIENTS :

For two people

Mixed greens - no rules on how much to use

1 Bosc pear( yellowish0brownish in color)

about 6 slices of proscuitto

2-4 Tb of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

2 Tb pine nuts, toasted lightly in pan

about 4-6 TB of shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tb brown sugar

HOW TO :

To make the parmesan crisp, on a non stick pan, sprinkle the parmesan cheese to form a circle, about 2" Leave space between circles, it's melts and spreads. Place pan in a 400 degree oven and cook for about 3-4 minutes... depending on your oven. You want it too look golden and lightly browned. When they are done, take pan out of oven, let sit a minutes and lift the crisp and put on another plate to cool OR if you are going to use it as a bowl for the salad.... turn a soup bowl over on flat counter and drape the still sift, flexible cheese over the bowl to form it's shape.

Next, in a small pot put the balsamic and brown sugar and heat in on med-low heat and let it reduce. Vinegar will become thicker but you will not notice so much when it's still hot. This will take about 15 mins... time varies. Let cool.

In a small pan, add pine nuts... and lightly toast the nuts until they are lightly browned. take about a minute on high heat.. they toast quickly.

Cut the pear in half, scoop out the core with a melon baller. Cut pear into thin slices.

Assemble the salad :

In a plate, place the parmesan crisp, add some mixed green (about a handful), place three pieces of the proscuitto on top of greens, fan out the pear on top, sprinkle pine nuts, drizzle with some balsamic dinner and the sprinkle with gorgonzola.

Serve & enjoy every bite !