Pear Salad with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Pomegranate is one of our favorite winter time salads. It's drizzled with a simple White Balsamic Vinaigrette to pull all the flavors together. This Savory Pear Salad is a regular for Thanksgiving and Christmas in our house. It's a refreshing flavor combination that is simple to make.
Baby Salad Greens with the juicy sweet pears and the sweet and sour pomegranate seeds adds the perfect base for this salad recipe. The walnuts add a crunch and the pungent salty blue cheese a delicious contrast to the sweet fruit. The White Balsamic Dressing pulls all the flavors together. I usually use Gorgonzola because it is a milder Blue Cheese for those that might be on the fence or not big Blue Cheese fans but if you love the stronger flavors feel free to use a stronger cheese.
Colt and I started making Savory Pear Pomegranate Salad with Gorgonzola and Walnuts and a white balsamic vinaigrette years ago when Lorna was about a year old. We had wanted to enjoy a Valentines Day dinner date but choose to stay in.
Sometimes to lay the kids down to sleep and put a little makeup on when they were little was so much easier then trying to find a sitter and worrying if they were ok through out our date. Our menu usually consisted of delicious flavor combinations we would order if we had gone out and the Savory Pear Pomegranate Salad with White Balsamic Vinaigrette was born out of a necessity to step away as Mom & Dad, to become Husband & Wife in the comfort of our home.
The sweetness of the pears with the sweet and sour pomegranate combined with the buttery bite of the gorgonzola, earthy rich crunch of walnuts with a light creamy white balsamic vinaigrette to round out the flavors and pull the salad together as one of our all time favorites. It was this flavor combination that made Colt start to love bleu cheese.
This salad pairs deliciously with grilled chicken for a light dinner or lunch. Pear Pomegranate Salad is also a delicious side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas when pears are at their peak.
Here's how to make this delicious Savory Pear Salad Recipe:
For the Creamy White Balsamic Vinaigrette add to a blender add:
- 1/3 cup White Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Water
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Honey
Dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for later use. If olive oil separates and hardens allow dressing to come to room temperature and blend again until creamy.
We used Red Anjou Pears for their gorgeous red skin but any favorite ripe pear will work. Slice pears thin and remove core. Seed pomegranate.
Drizzle pears and salad with the creamy white balsamic vinaigrette. Toss to coat pears well. This will help to prevent pears from browning.
Crumble gorgonzola into salad and toss until well combined.
Serve salad and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and walnuts.
If your really looking to dress up this salad you could always top it with Toffee Walnuts or Spiced Candied Hazelnuts.
Savory Pear Pomegranate Salad with gorgonzola and walnuts is my idea of a perfect salad.
You might also love these other Salad Recipes:
- Winter Pear Fruit Salad
- Beet Orange Salad
- Apple Salad with Candied Hazelnuts
- Christmas Fruit Salad
- Fuji Apple Spinach Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Yield: 6
Pear Salad with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Pomegranate
Pear Salad with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Pomegranate is one of our favorite winter time salads. It's drizzled with a simple White Balsamic Vinaigrette to pull all the flavors together. This Savory Pear Salad is a regular for Thanksgiving and Christmas in our house. It's a refreshing flavor combination that is simple to make.
Prep time: 10 MinTotal time: 10 Min
Ingredients
Creamy White Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup White Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Water
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Honey
Savory Pear Pomegranate Salad
- 1/2 pound Baby Salad Greens, Washed and Dried
- 2 whole Red Anjou Pears or Favorite Pear, Cored and Sliced Thin
- 1/4 cup Gorgonzola or Bleu Cheese, Crumbled
- 1 whole Pomegranate, Seeded
- 1/2 cup Walnuts, Roughly Chopped
Instructions
Creamy White Balsamic Vinaigrette
- In a blender combined white balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, water, salt, pepper and honey.
- Blend until creamy.
Savory Pear Pomegranate Salad
- Add salad greens and pears to a large bowl. Toss with desired amount of dressing to coat pears to prevent browning.
- Add gorgonzola, pomegranate seeds, and walnuts. Toss well and serve.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
380.58Fat
27.95 gSat. Fat
5.14 gCarbs
29.59 gFiber
7.39 gNet carbs
22.20 gSugar
15.89 gProtein
7.96 gSodium
369.95 mgCholesterol
7.76 mgCalories are estimated.
© 2014 Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
What a pretty salad Serena! Love the sound of the dressing and adding the pears and pomegranate seeds together with everything sounds really delicious :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds just delicious Serena. I love a good salad. The colors are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a delicious salad! I have been in such a salad mood lately, they just taste soo good. Great recipe :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
This salad is so vibrant in color, what a beautiful dish!
ReplyDeleteSerena, this lovely salad looks so delicious! I am ready for lighter dishes like this one! I love your description of date nights in- so much more relaxing! ♥
ReplyDelete