Pear And Gorgonzola Salad With Candied Pecans
As an Amazon Affilate, I earn commission on qualifying purchases.
This Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans is an autumn staple! It’s one of my go-to entertaining salads because it’s easy to prep in advance and it tastes amazing.
Making Vinaigrette for Pear Gorgonzola Salad
A gorgonzola, pecan and pear salad is super easy to make. All you have to do is arrange the pears over a bed of field greens and top with crumbled cheese and candied pecans.
As with most recipes when you’ll be focusing on very simple ingredients, go for the highest quality you can afford. While pears, pecans and field greens aren’t particularly expensive, you’ll want to use a really nice vinaigrette.
This is a good time to open that designer bottle of vinegar or oil that you were given last Christmas and never could figure out what to make with it!
My mom usually buys me really interesting oils and vinegars. The latest was D’Anjou Pear White Balsamic Vinegar from her local farmer’s market.
“You’ve got to blog something with this,” she told me many times, “It’s delicious!”
I kept telling her, “How can I write about a product that can’t be found outside Southern California?”
But that’s when it occurred to me. It’s not about that balsamic. It’s about using the ones you’ve been saving for a special occasion. As long as you know the basic principles of making a vinaigrette, you can use that special vinegar or olive oil.
A real, homemade vinaigrette takes only minutes to whip up and tastes infinitely better than a store bought dressing.
What You’ll Need for Pear and Gorgonzola Salad
It really doesn’t matter so much if you use arugula, field greens or romaine, walnuts or pecans, blue cheese or feta, pears, apples or nectarines! Experiment, create, and discover a version of this salad that is your own.
- 6 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
- pinch of salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar or honey
- 1-2 teaspoons lime or lemon juice
- 1/2 cup candied pecans (store bought or make your own – see recipe below!)
- 8 cups field greens washed and dried
- 4 ounces gorgonzola cheese crumbled
- 1 pear ripe, washed and quartered into thin slices
How Do You Cut Pears for Salad?
For an elegant presentation, I like to cut my pears into thin slices and fan them out on top of the salad. Another option is to dice them into nice bite-sized pieces.
Start by cutting the pear into quarters, then cut out the core. Lay the quarters flat side down.
Next you can cut the quarters into thin slices, or cut them into strips and then cut crosswise to dice.
Pears bruise easily and ripen better off the tree. Look for pears with intact stems and unblemished skin. To ripen, leave them on your counter for three to five days.
I hope you’ll enjoy this Pear and Gorgonzola Salad!
Pear And Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans
Ingredients
Dressing
- 6 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
- pinch of salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar or honey
- 1-2 teaspoons lime or lemon juice
Salad
- 8 cups field greens washed and dried
- 4 ounces gorgonzola cheese crumbled
- 1 pear ripe, washed and quartered into thin slices
Instructions
Dressing
- Whisk all ingredients for dressing together and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Candied Pecans
- Heat the sugar and pecans over a medium heat until sugar begins to melt.
- Shake pan and stir pecans so that they are lightly coated with sugar, add pinch of cayenne if desired. When sugar begins to turn caramel colored.
- Turn off heat and dump nuts on a cookie sheet to cool. Break up nuts when cool.
For the Salad
- Divide field greens or arugula between 4 plates. Arrange 1/4 sliced pear on each plate. Top with crumbled gorgonzola and candied pecans. Drizzle with salad dressing.
Waffle game is a game you can play whenever you want right in the browser. The rules of the game are very simple: You just need to use the given characters. Change them so that they link together to make meaningful words.
Love it! We enjoy this salad every few weeks at home. I must confess that I cheat and use Trader Joe’s Candied Pecans because they’re great and easier!
Are the candied pecans only available during the holidays or year round?
Can this travel or will the pears turn brown? This looks wonderful for a holiday potluck.
I would probably travel with all the components made ahead of time. Wash the greens and pears, crumble the gorgonzola and candy the pecans. Once you get there, toss everything in the bowl and slice the pears. Second, you could slice the pears, press them back together and wrap well with plastic. Hop this helps!
Cynthia
Pears will turn brown without acid to keep them fresh. Toss cut pears with a bit of lemon juice to coat and adjust the acid in the remaining ingredients.
that’s a great tip if one is making this salad well in advance, but since it’s served immediately in the recipe, I didn’t feel the need to add that. Thank you! I hope you enjoyed it?
This salad is quick to make and a good way to use up pears. The salad dressing is divine. I didn’t add the cheese only because of dieting after the holidays. It’s a keeper!
thank you so much! I appreciate it! Happy New Year! Cynthia
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
I could eat this everyday for the rest of my life. so perfect. added a grilled chicken breast to make a complete meal. delicious!
Thanks so much!