Pear And Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans

5 from 60 votes

Pear And Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans

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.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 436kcal

Author: Cynthia

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

Candied Pecans

1/2 cup pecans
1 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
pinch cayenne (optional)

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.

Notes

For the dressing I made, the pear vinegar was a bit sweet so I omitted the sugar went for a 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Taste...taste...taste! Citrus will cut the sweetness and make the flavors pop. I skipped the garlic, since I didn't want the flavors of the salad to be overwhelmed by the garlic.

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