Walnut, Pear and Roquefort Salad Recipe

| French Cuisine
Walnut, Pear and Roquefort Salad Recipe

Walnut Pear and Roquefort Salad

“Alex and I rise with the dawn eager for the new days’ delights of autumn and the walnut harvest. We joke and chaff happily as we pick them up. Sometimes we sing jolly walnut-picking folk songs from the Auvergne, in close harmony, as we gather nature’s bounty in the High Garden. Once collected, we take them to the kitchen where they are spread to dry and sorted into varieties.  Each nut is then carefully cleaned and named after a famous politician, economist, TV chef or celebrity. Bagged with care to avoid damaging the delicate patina of the shells, they are then stored in a cool dark place and inspected regularly over the winter so that you may enjoy them at their peak next summer”.

Seriously though, we are in full nut harvest mode right now. Our backs are aching, our fingers are stained and we are becoming slightly Nutty, just a touch OC because the Walnut Trees in the High Garden don’t seem to know when to stop. Not like last year when a poor harvest and bad timing meant we only just had enough to last. It was touch and go, we needed rigid discipline and rationing but we made it through to the end.  As you can imagine the tension was hard to bear and some of our late season guests actually required counselling about the potential dangers of L’Age Baston Walnut deprivation.

This year is different – we are better organised and the crop is enormous. Walnuts in industrial quantities are pouring into the kitchen – an amazing 100 kilos to date and still dropping. We are even getting picky with the picking and starting to ignore the ones with soggy bits to clean off and the really small jobs. We call it ‘leaving nuts for the squirrels’ in a sorry attempt to excuse our idleness. In truth the squirrels get up earlier than we do and, by the number of nuts with suspiciously beak-type holes in, so the birds.  Mind you, being the home grown veg and wood burning types that we are, there is no problem with sharing our delicious, environmentally sound walnuts with all the critters who find shelter here.  No matter how many legs they walk on.

We are also happy to issue an Official L’Age Baston Challenge to anyone joining us next year.  Eat as many of our classically wonderful and health giving natural organic walnuts as you like and – if we run out – you will get one afternoon of unlimited bottles of vintage champagne and homemade macaroons followed by an evening entertainment of fire-eaters, clowns and a zip wire from the Terrace to the copse over Horatio’s garden (you might have to have to sign a disclaimer for the zip wire).

There’s a lot of stuff out there about how good walnuts are for you; trace elements, omegas to die for and fibre to be smug about, blah, blah. What you don’t know, unless you’ve been here, is just how good those sweet L’Age Baston Walnuts taste and how versatile they can be. Walnuts, cheese and lunchtime rosé is a taste sensation of the highest order. Our low food mile Walnuts are a feature of Alex’s cuisine. Just to give an idea here is a Walnut Pear and Roquefort Salad recipe that you might like to try at home.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 2 pears
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons walnut oil
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • A mix of salad leaves
  • 40g shelled walnuts (L’Age Baston if available)
  • 75g Roquefort cheese

Method

  • Peel and core the pears and brush them with the lemon juice to prevent them turning brown
  • Using a screw top jar, add the white wine vinegar and salt and shake until the salt has dissolved
  • Then add the mustard and the walnut oil and shake again
  • Slice the pears lengthwise in thin segments and place on top of the salad leaves
  • Scatter over the walnuts but if walnuts are large, break them into smaller pieces
  • Shake the dressing again and then spoon over the walnuts and salad
  • Gently crumble the cheese over the top and serve with a sprinkling of black pepper

Best served with a chilled glass of rosé in the sun – Bon Appétit! 🙂

For more lovely food photos see our Cooking Gallery here or for some menu or recipe ideas, see our Sample Menus page here.

Send Us a Message