This salad has flavors that speak eloquently of autumn—pears, walnuts, bitter greens, and cranberries. You can substitute other dried fruit if you like. It’s a simple enough salad to serve for every day, yet dressed up enough to serve as a first course for company meals. It’s a welcome addition to Thanksgiving and Christmas menus, as well. Double the recipe for a larger crowd. Contributed by Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, adapted from The Veggie Queen™: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment.*
Pear and Toasted Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Author: Jill Nussinow
Recipe type: Autumn salad
Cuisine: Healthy
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 to 6
This salad has flavors that speak eloquently of autumn —pears, walnuts, bitter greens and cranberries. You can substitute other dried fruit if you like.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp walnut halves or pieces, toasted
- 2 large ripe pears, each cut into 8 to 12 slices
- 4 to 6 cups mixed baby greens (preferably including radicchio, arugula, and/or cress), rinsed and dried
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine the water, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, mustard, half the cranberries, and the olive oil in a food processor. Process until smooth.
- Place the greens in a mixing bowl. Pour half the dressing over the greens and toss. Arrange pears over greens and sprinkle walnuts and cranberries over pears.
- Top with freshly ground pepper. Add remaining dressing if you like, or pass it around. Serve right away.
- Here are more recipes for fruity compositions.
- Here are more recipes and menu ideas for a Vegetarian and Vegan-Friendly Thanksgiving.
*This post contains affiliate links. If the product is purchased by linking through this review, VegKitchen receives a modest commission, which helps maintain our site and helps it to continue growing!
1 Comment
Gen
January 22, 2017 at 12:30 pmThis dressing is excellent. Instead of orange juice, I just used a medium whole navel orange. I also used some walnut oil instead of olive oil.
To make this a more hearty salad for a lunch, add grated carrot, grated beet, thinly sliced red onion, raisins, mint leaves, grated jicama ….