As winter sets in full swing, fresh produce can be hard to find. Fortunately, walnuts and pears are two ingredients that make incorporating fresh and nutritious produce into your meals easy and seamless. Our Walnut, Pear and Avocado Bowl uses red Anjou pears, which are in season from late fall through the summer months. The combination of pears and walnuts in this bowl adds a delightful taste and texture to the dish, thanks to the juicy sweetness and smooth flesh of the pears and the earthy and buttery taste of crunchy California walnuts.
To keep your pears and California walnuts fresh and ready to go, we recommend keeping your walnuts cold in the cheese drawer of your refrigerator and testing your pears’ ripeness before use. You can do so by placing gentle pressure with your thumb near the stem. If it yields slightly, the pear is ripe!
Pro Tip: Don’t have any red Anjou pears on hand? Sub a different variety of pear instead! You can’t go wrong with the red Anjou’s counterpart, the green Anjou. If you’re looking for a pear with a slightly more firm texture, we recommend Bosc pears. They have a juicy, honey-like sweetness, and are in season September through April.
Now let’s dive into crafting this delicious Walnut, Pear and Avocado Bowl. These are the ingredients you will need:
Ingredients for the dressing
- ¼ cup of lime juice
- ¼ cup of loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 1 ½ tablespoons of canola oil
- ½ of a firm but ripe red Anjou pear, peeled and cubed
- ¼ of a firm but ripe avocado
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
Ingredients for the bowl
- 3 cups of pre-cooked chilled quinoa (1 lb 4 oz.)
- 2 cups of small torn pieces of curly kale
- ½ cup of thin slivers of red onion
- 1 large firm but ripe red Anjou pear, cored and sliced
- 1 ¼ firm but ripe avocados, cut into bite-sized cubes
- ¾ cup of very coarsely chopped California walnuts, toasted
- Torn fresh cilantro leaves (garnish)
Directions
- Place all of the dressing ingredients (except for the pepper) in a small blender and blend until the mixture is smooth.
- Prepare the dish by putting the quinoa in a large bowl. Drizzle it with the dressing. Then, stir to cover the quinoa, and then stir in the pepper and kale.
- Place a slightly heaping ½ cup of quinoa mixture into six bowls.
- Top each with ⅙ of sliced pear, ⅙ of the diced avocado, 1 ½ tablespoons of red onion and 2 tablespoons of walnuts.
- Garnish with cilantro leaves.
Serve this delicious Walnut, Pear and Avocado Bowl for a quick and nutritious lunch or alongside your favorite winter dinner! For more inspiration on walnut-and-pear-centered meals, check out these additional recipes!
