August 17, 2026
Pear and Prosciutto Salad with Arugula, Parmesan and Toasted Walnuts.
Dave Moorkens— Stacked Farm Chef
Pear and Prosciutto Salad with Arugula, Parmesan and Toasted Walnuts.
Serves 4 · Ready in 10 minutes · No cooking
Some salads are a base with things piled on top. This one is not, because the arugula is the loudest thing on the plate and everything else is arranged around its pepperiness. Sweet pear, salty prosciutto, nutty parmesan and a bit of crunch from the walnuts, all of it pulling against that bite.
Nothing here gets cooked, which makes it the salad to put out when people are already at the table, and the one to reach for on a day when every burner and every inch of the oven is already spoken for.
Chef's tip on pear selection — Get one that's ripe but still firm. A soft pear turns to mush the second you slice it and you'll never get it thin enough, so press it gently at the neck and if it gives at all, it's too far gone for this. Slice it last, right before you build the plate, and it won't have time to brown on you.
Dave Moorkens — Stacked Farm Chef
Ingredients
- 5 oz arugula
- 2 pears, ripe but still firm, thinly sliced
- 8 slices prosciutto
- 2 oz parmesan, shaved into ribbons
- ⅓ cup walnut halves, toasted
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic glaze
Method
- Arrange the arugula loosely across a large platter, then lay the pear slices through it and tear the prosciutto over the top.
- Scatter over the shaved parmesan and the toasted walnuts.
- Drizzle with the olive oil and the balsamic glaze, and take it to the table straight away.
Chef's tip: Don't toss this like a normal salad. Rocket is delicate, and the moment it's dressed and tossed it starts to collapse, so build it in layers, dress it right at the end and carry it straight out. If you have extra time, you can reduce your own balsamic glaze too, but a bit lengthy for a weeknight.
Dave Moorkens — Stacked Farm Chef
Why it works
Peppery, sweet, salty, and a little bitterness from the walnuts, with the balsamic tying it together. That is four of the five tastes on one plate and none of them is doing the same job as another. It is also why the dish falls apart if you swap the arugula for something milder, because without the pepper the pear and the glaze together make it far too sweet.
Which pear to buy
This is the one decision that will make or break it, and the default choice is the wrong one. Bartletts are the pear most of us reach for and they are lovely to eat out of hand, but they are soft and juicy and they will tear rather than slice. What you want is Bosc, which is the long-necked bronze one and holds its shape better than anything else in the case, or Anjou, red or green, which is firmer than it looks. Whichever you pick, press it gently at the neck. A little give means it is ready, and any more than that means it belongs in a crumble instead.
Make it yours
Leave out the prosciutto and add a few more walnuts, or some crisp chickpeas, and it holds up perfectly well as a vegetarian plate. Figs are a lovely swap for pear through late summer when they are around, and shaved fennel works if you want it sharper.
Peppery, not bruised
Arugula is a delicate leaf, and most of what happens to it between a farm and a fridge is the reason it can arrive tired. Ours grows indoors with nothing sprayed on it, and it is never washed, so it reaches the pack clean, dry and in one piece with its pepperiness intact. That matters more in a salad like this one than almost any other, because there is nowhere for a limp leaf to hide.
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FAQs
Bosc or Anjou. Both stay firm enough to slice thin and hold their shape on the plate. Avoid Bartlett, which is the most common pear in the store and also the softest, so it tears as you cut it.
Slice it last, right before you build the plate. If you need to get ahead, brush the slices with a little lemon juice.
Not this one. Arugula wilts quickly once it is dressed, so build it in layers, dress it at the last moment and serve it straight away.
Yes. Add a few extra walnuts or some crisp chickpeas for the salt and texture the prosciutto was bringing. Note that Parmigiano-Reggiano is always made with animal rennet, so use a domestic parmesan or a labeled vegetarian hard cheese if you need the whole dish to be vegetarian.
You can, by simmering balsamic vinegar until it thickens, but a good quality store-bought glaze does the same job in no time at all.
Pecorino if you want it saltier, aged manchego for something rounder, or aged gouda if you want the sweetness picked up rather than cut. All three shave into ribbons, which matters as much as the flavor here.
No. Stacked Farm arugula is grown indoors without pesticides and never washed, so it's ready to eat straight from the pack.