Today's recipe is one of those interesting salads you find on many restaurant menus. Pear Salad with Caramelized Pecans is a wonderful combination of sweet and salty flavors. Arugula and Boston lettuce are combined with diced bosc pears, sweet pecans, and crumbled blue cheese, then tossed with an olive oil-based dressing. Each serving contains 26 grams of fat.

For this rehab, we:

• Reduced the amount of pecan halves from 1 cup to 1/2 cup. To extend the flavor and crunch, we chopped the nuts. Since the amount of pecans was halved, we also reduced by half the amount of sugar and water used to caramelize them.

• Reduced the oil from 1/4 cup to 2 tablespoons. To compensate for some of the volume, we added 1 tablespoon water.

• Reduced the blue cheese from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup.

Results were better than expected. Reducing the amount of nuts and cheese proved to be just enough to cut the fat by more than half. This elegant recipe is perfect for entertaining. Reduced to 12 grams of fat per serving, it's sure to impress family and friends.

Recipe Rehab Tip of the Week: This salad is a perfect example of how simply reducing the amount of some high fat ingredients can still produce a dish that rivals the original in flavor.

Pear Salad with Caramelized Pecans

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water, divided

1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 cups arugula

2 heads Boston lettuce (about 4 cups)

3 bosc pears, cored, diced

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Lightly spray cookie sheet with vegetable oil spray; set aside. In small saucepan, bring sugar and 1 tablespoon water to boil. Continue to cook over medium-high heat without stirring until mixture turns golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans; spread in single layer on prepared cookie sheet. Let stand until cool, then break into pieces. In cup, whisk together olive oil, remaining water, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined. In large serving bowl, tear arugula and Boston lettuce into strips. Add pears, green onions, cheese and caramelized pecan pieces. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss to coat. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Before and after

Based on 1 serving ( 1/7 of recipe)

Pear Salad with Caramelized Pecans		Adapted
Calories	314	185
Fat	22 g	12 g
Carbohydrate	28 g	20 g
Sodium	473 mg	405 mg
Fiber	4 g	3 g
Cholesterol	7 mg	4 mg
Calories from fat
	61%	55%

Nutritionists recommend those on daily 2,000 calorie diet limit their fat consumption to 65 g or less, cholesterol to 300 mg or less and sodium to 2,400 mg or less per day.

Karen Weber, Pat Streicher and Ellen Illig are registered dieticians at Jewish Hospital's Cholesterol Center. Their Recipe Rehab Cookbook is available by mail. Send check or money order for $40 to RR Cookbook, P.O. Box 58100, Cincinnati 45258.