pear salad with champagne vinaigrette

pear salad - scrumptious!

Heavenly Pears!  I don't think I realized how fabulous pears could be until my twenties, when I received my first box of Royal Riviera Pears from Harry & David. They were a marvel - golden-green skin, amazing aroma, sweet nectar.  And I might add, a far cry from the canned pears of my childhood.

This time of year there is always a bowl of pears ripening in the kitchen.  If I can grab one before the kids eat it - I love to add thin slices to a winter salad. Somehow that simple addition makes a weekday side seem special.

Here's my pear fix. The ingredients are thrown together to accompany a quick dinner ... and are not exact.  Feel free to experiment with the vinegar, too.  Use whatever you have on hand!

Pear Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette

serves 2

Ingredients:

 composing the salads

2 large handfuls of mixed greens (arugula and baby spinach are my favorites)

1 T champagne vinegar

1 t dijon mustard

3 T evoo

s/p to taste
(I go heavy on the fresh ground pepper)

1 ripe pear, sliced

2 T crumbled cheese, blue or goat
(I used Shropshire Blue, a cow's milk cheese from the UK) 

Tip:  When making salad for more than 2 ... I usually make my dressing in the bowl that I'll use for tossing.  Tonight my salad was more composed so I made it in an oversized measuring cup.

Directions:

1. Rinse and spin your greens.  While drying, make your vinaigrette.

2. Put vinegar and mustard in a bowl.  Whisk in the evoo and add salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Toss your greens in the dressing.  Or plate them, place pear slices and crumbled cheese on top, and drizzle with the dressing.

Enjoy!

my kids love their fruit and veggies au naturale
(hold the dressing!)