Simple Salads: Pear and Bleu Cheese

Lately I’ve been sharing a lot of simple soups, today I share one of our favorite simple salads. I love salad but I don’t necessarily like to make salads. So when I find a simple salad that is easy to make and tastes delicious it’s a winner in my book! I don’t know if you’ve ever made your own candied nuts but they are a wonderful addition to this salad. You can read more about making your own candied nuts HERE. If you don’t want to make your own I’ve seen candied nuts for sale in the grocery store. Either way they are a wonderful addition to this salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Salad is a perfect fall salad and I’ve even served it with our Christmas dinner before. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Pear and Bleu Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

1 head of spinach or about 10 oz of fresh salad greens
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1-2 pears, thinly sliced
½ cup blue cheese, crumbled
½ cup candied pecans or walnuts
1 avocado, cubed (optional)
¼ cup dried cranberries (optional)

Dressing:

¼ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
⅓ cup mayonnaise
¾ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground pepper

Before you assemble the salad make the dressing. Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a bender. Mix up the dressing ingredients ahead of time. This will make putting the salad together even quicker.

To put the salad together layer the greens, thinly sliced onion, sliced pears, blue cheese and, pecans. Add avocado or dried cranberries as desired. Pour over the salad just before serving. Serve and enjoy.

For an easy dinner serve this salad with one of the simples soups I shared recently; Irish Yellow Broth, Chicken Pot Pie Soup or Butternut Squash Soup would all pair perfectly with this salad.