I discovered Ya Li pears (aka Yali pears) a few years ago and I always look forward to their season. I purchased some fresh arugula from the Huntington Beach Farmers Market and made a salad combining it with the pears. Ya Li pears are exremely sweet and juicy, much like the round, flatter and slightly brown skinned Asian pears. What I like about these pears is that I don’t feel I have to peel its delicate and thin skin. Pear and blue cheese are a great combination and the arugula adds a nice peppery contrast.
The arugula I bought tasted quite agressive as it is not as young and tender as I would have liked to use for a raw salad so slightly wilting it in a hot pan with oil (for about 30 seconds) helped to take the edge off of. Any good blue cheese will do. However, I am partial to the one made by Maytag. Add some toasted pecans or walnuts for extra oomph.
Bon appétit!
Hot.Sour.Salty.Sweet. And Umami 
February 26, 2008 at '11:27'
Pears and Blue cheese (especially Roquefort) are the perfect combination. I’ve never seen these pears before. They are so pretty!
February 26, 2008 at '12:16'
I agree I like these pears too. I only trid them because that is what the kids picked out at the market and I was happy I did. A good blue cheese shoulds good too.
February 26, 2008 at '15:45'
Mmmm, those pears are beautiful. I love to make a salad with blue cheese, pears, pecans and bacon. The flavors are amazing together.
February 26, 2008 at '20:35'
I can’t believe I missed your Monday salad again… I really feel like getting some Maytag blue cheese now… It is so good!
And the combination with these pears really makes it irresistible!
February 26, 2008 at '22:31'
I’ve never had yali pear before,
Mmm,
I wanna buy one and give it a try.
February 27, 2008 at '17:53'
Hello from Temecula ( not too far from Hungtington Beach) I discovered your blog via 64sqfkitchen that I discovered previously via Anna from A foodie Froggy in Paris…I really love your blog… need more time to enjoy it!
February 27, 2008 at '21:40'
how can you go wrong with that combo? and i love the deconstructed plating.
i’ve never seen that type of pear before; they look super yummy. i do love me an asian pear, though.
February 27, 2008 at '23:31'
Warda- Merci! You know, I bet you can find them at Randazzo’s. I think I may have seen them there before.
Shayne – Your kids are awesome!
Madeline- Yes, bacon sounds nice also. Thanks for the tip.
Pierre – c’est dommage 😦
Cindy- I’m surprised with your varied outings that you haven’t tried it. Hope you do soon!
Celine – bonjour! Thanks!
Michelle- Deconstructed 🙂 I love asian pears of any kind too.
February 28, 2008 at '9:30'
Your salads are always soooo classy! I just wish I liked blue cheese 😦 I’m so low brow…
March 9, 2008 at '16:38'
Jen – I know how you feel about blue cheese. I only recently became a fan of it – it sorta crept up on me, I think.
Low brow – well, I dunno ’bout that, girlfriend!