Pear and Pecan Winter Salad
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Winter salad is almost an oxymoron where I live because hardly anything grows here in the winter. There are plenty of grocery stores that have fruits and vegetables but most are grown south of here. While I will certainly eat a salad in the winter it isn’t my favorite time to do so. I like being able to go to the farmer’s markets and get fresh vegetables in the summer.
Which is why I was really surprised when I looked through my blog and found that I actually had quite a few winter salads already on it. I have a Winter Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette , a Winter Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette , a Winter Fruit Salad with Vanilla Scented Lemon Drizzle , and a Cranberry Pecan Salad . How yummy do all of those sound?
Since I already had two winter salads with citrus plus one with cranberries I didn’t want to use any of those in my salad this time around. As usual I built my salad from the bottom up. I started with a mix of greens. You can use whatever is available at the store and looks good.
After that I generally like to have a fruit, a cheese, and something crunchy. When looking at winter fruits I chose between apples and pears. I feel like apples are more fall like so I went with the underrated pears. Then I grabbed a container of blue cheese crumbles because I thought it would go well with the pears. For crunch I added in some pecan halves. Nuts are always good for crunch because they hold up well in salads and are available year round.
I was pretty excited with how this Pear and Pecan Winter Salad was going to taste but it looked pretty plain. The colors were all similar so it didn’t have anything to catch the eye. To curb that I grabbed a container of pomegranate seeds (arils) and tossed them with the salad. It was the perfect pop of color and added a great flavor too.
When I served this salad at home I made a vinaigrette to go with it but when I took a giant bowl to work I simply served it with Italian dressing from a bottle because it was easy to take with me. I really enjoyed the ease of making this salad but the big flavors it packed. It’s perfect to brighten up any winter day!
Pear and Pecan Winter Salad
Ingredients
- 8 c. mixed greens
- 2 pears thinly sliced
- 1/2 c. blue cheese crumbles
- 1/2 c. pecan halves
- 1/3 c. pomegranate arils
- 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
- Dressing
Instructions
- In a large bowl toss the mixed greens with the pears, blue cheese, pecans, pomegrante, and red onions.
- Serve with your favorite dressing.
Notes
Nutrition
Winter Salads
- Moon and Starfruit Salad by Art of Natural Living
- Old Fashioned Crunchy Pea Salad by Intelligent Domestications
- Pear and Pecan Winter Salad by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Roasted Fennel Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing by That Recipe
- Roasted Vegetable Salad with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Roasted Winter Veggie & Quinoa Salad by Sweet Beginnings
- Wilted Pear and Shallot Salad by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
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There is so much flavor packed into that bowl. It would be perfect for lunch OR dinner with all those ingredients. Yum!
I actually get farmer’s market lettuce all winter. There are a few farmers that grow in greenhouses, though you’ve got to get to the winter market early since they run out! Delicious and fresh looking salad!
I completely agree that something crunchy in a salad is always good and we always enjoy pecans too. We tend to eat salads year round also. This salad would good to take for lunch.
Great flavor profile in this salad. I think I will use a poppyseed dressing.