Winter Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette
A fresh, festive winter salad with sweet pears, tangy blue cheese, and crunchy pecans—tossed in a zippy homemade vinaigrette. Perfect for holidays and cold-weather meals.
Equipment
- - Salad bowl
- - Small whisk or jar
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- **Salad:**
- - 10 oz winter greens spinach, arugula, endive
- - 3 ripe pears chopped
- - 2 cups pecan halves toasted
- - 1 cup dried cranberries
- - ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- **Vinaigrette:**
- - 6 tbsp white wine vinegar
- - 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- - ½ cup olive oil
- - ¼ tsp salt
- - Optional: ¼ tsp sugar
Instructions
- Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients until smooth and emulsified.
- In a large bowl, combine greens, pears, pecans, and cranberries.
- Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and toss to coat.
- Top with crumbled blue cheese. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Substitute apples or pomegranate for pears.
- Feta or goat cheese can replace blue cheese.
- Add protein for a complete meal.
- Chop pears last to prevent browning.
- Feta or goat cheese can replace blue cheese.
- Add protein for a complete meal.
- Chop pears last to prevent browning.