Pear Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

I love the pear and bleu cheese salad at Nordstrom's Cafe so decided to try making something similar at home. Their salad is simple, pear, bleu cheese, and candied walnuts served over mixed greens. The dressing, while good, was their bottled Champagne vinaigrette and I just wanted something a bit different however I've included both recipes below.

My daughter worked at the local Nordstrom's cafe in high school and at that time, they would give you any recipe you asked for; so we're lucky to have that great original! I used gorgonzola instead of bleu cheese; preferring the milder taste and used pecans instead of walnuts, just because I had them on hand.  Searched for a maple dressing and  found one that was perfect from one of our Canadian neighbors at Closet Cooking.

This dressing is a perfect combination of olive oil, dijon mustard and maple…even used Kevins' recipe for maple candied pecans. The plan was to serve it on Mother's Day but ended up serving it last night with a simple grilled chicken breast but think it would also be wonderful with salmon. It was so good, guess we'll be doing it again on Sunday!

Serves 4-6

Salad

Mesclun greens, 4-6 cups
2 pears, peeled (toss with some lemon juice to keep them from discoloring)
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion rings, halved
1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2/3 cup Maple Candied Walnuts or Pecans (in a pinch, just toast some nuts), roughly chopped

Maple Candied Walnuts or Pecans

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
pepper to taste
1/2 cup pecan or walnut halves

Directions:

• Melt the butter in a pan
• Mix in the maple syrup and pepper
• Add the pecans and toss to coat
• Cook on medium low heat about 15 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes. Watch carefully so they don't burn.
• Turn out on aluminum foil and let cool for 5 minutes.

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbl. Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbl. garlic, minced
• pepper to taste

Nordstrom's Champagne Vinaigrette

• 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup Champagne wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups salad oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

For either dressing, mix all ingredients in bowl using wire whisk. Place greens on individual plates. Sprinkle pears, nuts and gorgonzola on top of salad greens. Drizzle dressing over salad or serve on the side to suit individual tastes. Beautiful and delicious.

Tagged as: gorgonzola, maple, pear, pecans, Salads