This salad is destined to be one of the best you’ll taste all season long.  A perfect combination of Fall produce and flavors: slices of sweet pears tossed with Bibb lettuce, golden raisins, cubes of Gruyere, and for that salty finish, crispy strips of tasty Italian mortadella.  Hailing from the city of Bologna, Italy, this cold cut is studded with lovely green pistachios and flavored with myrtle berries.  When sautéed in a touch of oil and butter, these tender strips of pork become as crispy (and as tasty) as your favorite bacon or pancetta.  Finished off with a light balsamic vinaigrette, this salad is a true wonder.

(To view the recipe from Fine Cooking magazine that I based this recipe on, click on the following link: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/seckel-pear-crispy-mortadella-salad.aspx)

Tagged: balsamic vinaigrette, balsamic vinegar, bibb lettuce, crispy mortadella, fall, Fine Cooking magazine, golden raisins, Gruyere cheese, lettuce, mortadella, pear, raisins, Salad, swiss cheese