Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Pear and Gorgonzola Salad

I love this salad.

This salad is not only delicious but is loaded with nutrients. And I love that. It is also elegant and perfect to serve on a holiday to company, which is what I did. Everyone loved it. It's unique, but not so different that guests will be turned off by it. Most people love pears and cheese and walnuts as well.

Pear and Gorgonzola Salad

20oz Romaine Lettuce, washed, dried and torn into small pieces
2 Ripe Bartlett Pears cored and sliced (Anjou pears would work as well)
3/4 cup Chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup Crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Ground black pepper to taste
Pear Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Toss lettuce with half of vinaigrette. Place lettuce on six salad plates, top with 5-6 slices of pears fanned over lettuce and sprinkle with equal amounts of walnuts and cheese. Drizzle each salad with remaining vinaigrette.

Serve immediately. Since fresh pears are used here the salad must be served immediately or the pears with start to brown.

Pear Vinaigrette: Combine 1 (15 oz.) can juice-packed, drained Bartlett pears, 1/3 extra virgin olive oil, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tsp. salt in a blender; mix well. Chill until ready to use.

6 comments:

Jen said...

I bet the
salad dressing
smelled good...

Sara said...

That salad is beautiful! I'll be trying that dressing, sounds so delicious.

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious, I love the way pear and Gorgonzola taste together!

Ari (Baking and Books)

Brilynn said...

Delicious, loaded with nutrients and beautiful too! Lovely presentation!

Emily said...

Wow-this looks good. I bet you'd pay $10 or more at a restaurant for this.

I like the idea of a "pear" vinaigrette. Who would have thought to use canned pears in a vinaigrette?

Annie said...

Yes Jen, it certainly did. As always!

Sara, thanks and I think you will like the dressing!

Ari, Thanks for visiting. I love the combo as well.

Brilynn, You almost don't even know it's healthy because it tastes so good!

Emiline, I've not yet seen this salad on a menu but you're probable right. I'm glad you reminded me to give some credit to mealsmatters.com where I found my inspiration for the vinaigrette. They had a recipe using white vinegar which I think is too acidic. The apple cider vinegar was the perfect balance of sweet and acid.