Pear & Blue Cheese Salad with Candied Pecans
Candied walnuts, pears, avocado, and crumbled blue cheese come together in this versatile salad. Great as either a side or as a main dish if served with grilled chicken.
Servings side salads
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 head Romaine lettuce 2 two heads of Romaine hearts
- 3 pears seeded and diced
- 1 avocado pitted and diced
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 4-5 ounces crumbled Roquefort or Gorgonzola cheese
- dried cherries optional
Dressing
- 6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon course-grain mustard such as creole mustard
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup roughly chopped onion
- ⅔ cup olive oil
Instructions
Dressing
- Combine the vinegar, minced onion, sugar, mustard, garlic, and salt in the jar of your blender and blend until smooth. With the blender running, add the olive oil in a steady stream until combined. Season with black pepper to taste and refrigerate.
Salad
- Spray a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a small non-stick skillet (if possible), stir the nuts and sugar constantly over medium heat until the sugar melts and the nuts are evenly coated in the sugar syrup. Spread the nuts over the prepared sheet of foil or parchment and let them cool completely.
- While the nuts are cooling, toss together the chopped lettuce and diced pears and avocado. Add the crumbled cheese and candied nuts, and dried cherries if using, then drizzle the dressing over the salad as desired and toss gently to combine. If serving as a meal, you can add grilled chicken. Makes 4-6 main dish servings or 8-10 side dish servings.
Notes
- Note: This dressing recipe has been edited from the original version posted due to reader feedback.
- Nutrition information reflects the salad only, without dressing.
- Assembled salads are best eaten fresh! If you have leftovers or want to plan ahead, store salad components in the refrigerator (except nuts) and build your salads as needed.
- Store your finished dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
Nutrition
Calories: 199kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 11mg, Sodium: 165mg, Potassium: 264mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 165IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 89mg, Iron: 0.5mg
Calories: 199kcal
Cost: $7
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