Guaranteed this will be the first to go on the buffet table. And the dressing… ah the dressing is heavenly! If you have a good salad garden, this will be a joy to prepare. My greens are still small so I bought a large package of prewashed greens at Safeway. Make sure the packed greens are very, very fresh. I washed them anyway... the water brings the leaves alive and your salad will be fresher that way. As for the green pear, I would not use soft, fully ripened pear. It should be firm, because you want the pear sliced very thin. I used only one pear, but I think the salad could use up to two pears.
My daughter said this would have been nice with goat cheese too. [smart daughter eh?] But I opted to go without, because I made a couple of other salads with feta cheese, and it would have been just too many salads with cheese. I also rather liked the lightness of this salad without cheese.
Words of caution, when you make the dressing, use a blender*, not a food processor. What a mess it made for me! If you don’t have a blender, prepare it by hand**.
GREEN PEAR SALAD
Salad:
3 large handfuls of mixed greens
1 green pear thinly sliced
3/4 cup pecans, lightly toasted
3/4 cup dried cranberries
Dressing:
2 very finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup vegetable oil
• On medium heat, lightly toast the pecans in a non-stick skillet.
• Remove and set aside to cool.
• Wash and spin-dry the salad greens.
• Place the salad greens in a large mixing bowl.
• Wash and thinly slice the pear. [Do not peel]
• Place the sliced pear in a bowl and toss with 1 heaping Tbsp of Fruit Fresh. This will keep the pear from oxidizing.
• Add the pear slices to the bowl.
• Add the toasted pecans and the dried cranberries to the bowl.
• Lightly toss and transfer to a salad bowl.
*Dressing in Blender:
Place dressing ingredients [except the oil] in a blender and blend.
• In a thin, steady stream, add the oil.
• Transfer to a decanter and serve with the salad.
3 large handfuls of mixed greens
1 green pear thinly sliced
3/4 cup pecans, lightly toasted
3/4 cup dried cranberries
Dressing:
2 very finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup vegetable oil
• On medium heat, lightly toast the pecans in a non-stick skillet.
• Remove and set aside to cool.
• Wash and spin-dry the salad greens.
• Place the salad greens in a large mixing bowl.
• Wash and thinly slice the pear. [Do not peel]
• Place the sliced pear in a bowl and toss with 1 heaping Tbsp of Fruit Fresh. This will keep the pear from oxidizing.
• Add the pear slices to the bowl.
• Add the toasted pecans and the dried cranberries to the bowl.
• Lightly toss and transfer to a salad bowl.
*Dressing in Blender:
Place dressing ingredients [except the oil] in a blender and blend.
• In a thin, steady stream, add the oil.
• Transfer to a decanter and serve with the salad.
**Dressing by Hand:
• Alternatively, dice or grate the shallots and set them aside.
• With a balloon whisk, combine the rest of the dressing ingredients [except the oil].
• In a thin, steady stream, whisk in the oil
• Add the shallots and whisk to combine.
• Transfer to a decanter and serve with the salad.
• Alternatively, dice or grate the shallots and set them aside.
• With a balloon whisk, combine the rest of the dressing ingredients [except the oil].
• In a thin, steady stream, whisk in the oil
• Add the shallots and whisk to combine.
• Transfer to a decanter and serve with the salad.
