Categorized:
- Appetizers & Salads
- Fall Faves
- Main Dish
Tagged:
- balsamic vinegar
- brown sugar
- butter
- cranberries
- honey
- lettuce
- mustard
- olive oil
- parmesan
- pears
- spinach
- walnuts
Autumn Pear Salad
Ingredients
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 Tbsp finely diced shallot
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 Tbsp salted butter
- 1 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar
- 7 oz Spring Salad & Spinach blend
- 2 oz parmesan cheese, shaved
- 2 Pears, sliced thin (Bartlett or Anjou are great)
- 1/3 cup dried sweetened cranberries
Instructions
- To a blender add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, diced shallot and season with salt and pepper to taste (I used a 1/4 +1/8 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper).
- Blend mixture until well emulsified, about 20 seconds. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to serve.
- In a medium skillet melt butter along with brown sugar over medium heat. Once mixture has melted add walnuts and cook, stirring constantly until caramelized, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate in a single layer to cool.
- Layer lettuce and pears in a large bowl and toss with dressing, then top with parmesan, dried cranberries and candied walnuts and serve (alternately just layer all the salad ingredients then drizzle with dressing. Note: top this salad with dressing just before serving as it will wilt the lettuces after a while).
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