Cheery, colourful and full of goodness, this crunchy salad plays with bitter and sweet notes, with parmesan lending some pungent oomph. A good cheddar, of course, or a traditional blue cheese would also work very well here. If you can find red chicory or Trevise, teaming them with dried and fresh cranberries gives such a seasonal feel.

For 2
10 minutes preparation
5 minutes cooking

A good handful of fresh cranberries
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
2 tablespoons pecans
8 – 10 large salad leaves, rinsed
2 red chicory or one Trevise, leaves separated and rinsed
1 large pear
2 – 3 tablespoons shaved Parmesan
Salt and pepper
Buttermilk or kefir as a vinaigrette, or a more traditional oil based one, if you prefer

Put the fresh cranberries in a small pan with a dash of water and heat for just a minute or two until they are poaching and falling apart slightly. Remove from the heat, add the dried cranberries, stir and leave to cool. The dried cranberries will soften and plump up slightly in the juices released from the fresh fruit.

Toast the pecans in a pan or in the oven and leave to cool.

Arrange the leaves prettily on a large plate. Slice the pear thinly (peel it if you like) and place the pieces amongst the leaves. Sprinkle the pecans, then the cranberries, over the leaves. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle over the vinaigrette and garnish with the parmesan.