Pear Salad with Gorgonzola, Walnuts & Arugula
This pear and gorgonzola salad recipe is everything I crave in a salad. It’s sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, juicy, peppery and bright—in other words, it’s the ultimate combination of flavors and textures. The salad is always a crowd pleaser, and it pairs perfectly with just about any main course, from holiday roasts, to baked chicken, to weeknight pastas.
While I like to snack on pears, I love to eat them in salads, especially in the fall and winter when they’re at their peak. The sweetness of pears perfectly balances bitter winter greens, and their juicy texture offsets crunchy vegetables and nuts. But the real star of this salad is the combination of pears and Gorgonzola. The bold, salty blue cheese amplifies the sweetness of the pears, creating an irresistible combination.
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ medium head radicchio, thinly sliced
- ½ medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced or shaved on mandoline
- 2 cups mixed greens or baby arugula
- 1 ripe Barlett pear, cored and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (or you can use pecans or hazelnuts)
- 2 tablespoons dried cherries or cranberries
- ¼ cup crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese