winter salads: roasted pear and parma ham salad with goats cheese

as you’ll know, i’m a sucker for pears in a salad. this salad combines the traditional flavours of sweet pears with salty parma ham and creamy goats cheese.

it was a lovely starter for our new year’s eve meal and is definitely something worth trying if you’re not already familiar with these flavours. it was also the perfect homage to last year’s italian holiday – ham from parma and aged aceto balsamico from modena (balsamic vinegar aged over 20 years to create a rich, sweet but slightly acidic syrup – apparently it’s also good with vanilla ice cream…).

roasted pear and parma ham salad with goats cheese (serves 2)

2 ripe pears, cut lengthways into quarters with the core removed

4-8 slices parma ham

freshly ground black pepper

walnut oil

salad leaves

4 thin slices of soft goats cheese

aged balsamic vinegar*

preheat the oven to 200c.

wrap the parma ham around the pears and place on a large roasting tray. season well with black pepper and drizzle with a little walnut oil before roasting for 20 minutes, until the parma ham is crisp.

arrange the salad leaves on a plate. top with the parma pears and goats cheese before drizzling with the balsamic vinegar.

* if you only have access to modern balsamic vinegar, use it to make a dressing and toss the salad leaves in this before placing them on the plate.