Market Day Autumn Salad

Wednesdays are fun around here. Since Hans has the day off, he takes Kirstie to school in the morning and meanwhile, I set the table so that when he comes back we can enjoy a quiet breakfast together. After our croissants this morning we headed to the market for some midweek produce shopping. We walked to our favorite stall and were pleasantly surprised to see some gorgeous, violet-blue, Anna Späth plums. This is one of the reasons why I love, love, love my local market. They always manage to surprise us with a new, and very irresistible fruit or vegetable. I purchased two kilos along with some pears and gushed all the way back to the car, commenting about all the beautiful things they had today and going on about a possible clafoutis with the plums.
Another thing I love about the market is the inspiration it gives me. I've created many a dish simply by looking around and seeing what's available. Sometimes the whole feel to the market on that particular day will be enough to inspire me. Today though, it was the crisp Autumn air and the wonderfully sunny skies. I didn't have to think long about what I wanted for lunch- a salad with the pears I had just bought and perhaps some Roquefort and some walnuts.

Here's the recipe:

Market Day Autumn Salad

*1 pear, halved and sliced
*5-6 handfuls of lettuce (I used Lollo Rosso)
*50g walnuts, roughly chopped
*50g Roquefort cheese, crumbled

For the dressing:
*2 tbsp good quality olive oil
*1 tbsp white wine vinegar
*pinch of sea salt
*2 tsps honey
*1 tsp Dijon mustard

Wash and spin your lettuce leaves. Cut the pear, chop the walnuts and crumble the cheese. Toss the lettuce leaves with some of the dressing but leave a little to drizzle over the salad at the end. Put the lettuce in a bowl and top with the pears, cheese and walnuts. Drizzle with the rest of the dressing and serve. Delicious with a glass of red Languedoc.

Serves two.

PS: More about that clafoutis to come!