Pear Mixed Greens Salad

If you’re looking for a fall-winter salad that’s special enough for a holiday dinner party and also perfect for a weekday lunch, this pear mixed greens salad is it. The salad has a great balance of fresh, savory and sweet flavors with manchego cheese, almonds, dried cherries and red onions, all tossed in a zesty white wine vinaigrette.

Try this pear farro salad with hearty grains, dates and pistachios. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Pears are lovely in salads. Name the season and I have salad recipes with fruit. That can seem impossible during fall and winter, but pears are a fantastic choice. They are fragrant and sweet and work beautifully with savory ingredients. 

Serve this at a holiday meal or as an any day lunch or dinner salad. This recipe is one of those salads that you could order in a restaurant, but you can make it yourself at home and do it better.

This salad is very adaptable. You can change the fruit, the type of lettuce, the nuts or the cheese. This recipe is wonderful as written, but you can make substitutions and use what you have in your kitchen and your fridge. For instance, try apples, arugula and blue cheese.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Pears: You can use any variety, but I like Bartlett and Comice pears for salads. When they’re ripe, they should give a little when you press them. You don’t want pears that are hard, but if they’re too soft that means they’re overripe and will be too sweet.
• Mixed greens: There are lots of salad mixes to choose from at the grocery. Spring mix, romaine and spinach & arugula are just a few. Pick a blend that has one or two lettuce types that you like.
• Manchego: I am a huge fan of this Spanish cheese. It is firm and made from sheep’s milk. The flavor is buttery and mild and works really well with fruits such as pears and apples. I also use it in my apple & grape kale salad.
• Red onions: Thinly sliced, they add a crisp accent to the salad.  
• Almonds: The recipe calls for roughly chopped roasted almonds. If you want to be fancier, you can use marcona almonds, which will be saltier. 
• Dried cherries have such good sweet flavor in fall and winter salads. You can substitute with dried cranberries or fresh pomegranate seeds.
• Parsley: I also include chopped fresh herbs to round out all the ingredients. 
• White wine vinaigrette: The dressing has minced garlic, whole grain mustard (or Dijon mustard), honey, fresh lemon juice, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper.

Serving

As mentioned, pears are great for Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday salads, but you can enjoy this salad for a simple lunch or dinner. Serve it as a side dish with an entrée or make it the main dish. You can add a protein like roasted chicken or a hardboiled egg.

Because of the weight of the pears and the delicate leafy greens, I like to put it on a serving plate instead of in a deep bowl. Then the fruit, nuts and cheese won’t sink to the bottom and get lost.

Storage & Leftovers

If you’re planning to save part of the salad for later, wait to slice all the pears and do not toss the salad in the vinaigrette. This will prevent the mixed greens from getting soggy. Keep the salad in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. 

The dressing should be kept in a separate jar. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and then stir it. The oil will likely harden in the cold temperature of the fridge.