Spinach and Pear Salad with Rosemary Vinaigrette is an absolutely fabulous, gourmet salad recipe.

This is such a beautiful salad recipe to add to your dinner menu. The easy-to-make, homemade dressing is tossed with fresh spinach leaves. Toasted pecans, fresh pear and blue cheese are additional salad components. It all makes for a delicious spinach and pear salad that you’re going to love!

Ingredients needed:

• red wine vinegar and rice vinegar
• vegetable broth
• shallots
• olive oil
• fresh parsley and fresh rosemary
• fresh spinach leaves
• toasted pecans
• fresh pears
• crumbled blue cheese

How to make Spinach and Pear Salad with Rosemary Vinaigrette:

The homemade rosemary vinaigrette is easily made in a blender. Red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, vegetable broth, shallots and olive oil are processed until smooth. Then you can pour the vinaigrette into your favorite serving vessel and season it with fresh parsley, fresh rosemary and salt and pepper.

To assemble the salad, you will simply toss fresh spinach and toasted pecans in a bowl with the salad dressing. I suggest adding a little dressing at a time until you reach your desired amount. You can always add more to individual servings. To plate, divide the salad between four plates or salad bowls and top with pear slices and blue cheese. Drizzle more dressing on top, as desired.

How to toast pecans:

Place the pecans on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Keep an eye on them so they don’t brown too quickly or burn. Alternately, you can toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir them with a wooden spoon until lightly browned, and then remove them from the pan onto a paper towel or cutting board to cool.

What are the best pears to use for salad?

The pears are the star of the show here, so you’ll want to use your favorite just-ripe pears to add to the salad. Bartlett, Bosc and Anjou are common varieties that work well for salads. You want to use pears that are barely ripe. They should have a sweet smell and yield slightly when squeezed. A perfect pear for salad will be sweet and juicy, but still a bit crisp and firm.

Try this yummy pear salad the next time you need a new salad recipe! Add chicken to make it a main dish salad. Enjoy!

Here are a few more spinach salad recipes you might like to try:

• Cranberry Spinach Salad with Gorgonzola
• Mandarin Chicken Spinach Salad
• Southwest Spinach Salad
• Spinach Salad with Hot Prosciutto Dressing
• Fall Quinoa Spinach Salad
• Spinach Salad with Chicken, Avocado and Goat Cheese
• Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken and Avocado
• Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Cumin Dressing

Print

Spinach and Pear Salad with Rosemary Vinaigrette

A fabulous gourmet salad recipe!

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword pear, rosemary, salad, spinach, vinaigrette

Prep Time 20 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 194kcal

Author RecipeGirl.com (shared from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients

VINAIGRETTE:

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable broth
• 1½ tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper, to taste

SALAD:

• 4 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped toasted pecans
• 2 medium ripe pears, unpeeled (cored and thinly sliced)
• ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

Instructions

PREPARE THE VINAIGRETTE:

• In a blender, process the vinegars, broth, shallots and olive oil until smooth. Pour into a small dish. Stir in the parsley and rosemary. Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

ASSEMBLE THE SALAD:

• In a large bowl, toss the spinach and pecans with enough dressing to coat. Divide the salad among 4 plates. Top with sliced pears and sprinkle with cheese.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 337mg | Potassium: 1478mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 22372IU | Vitamin C: 72mg | Calcium: 290mg | Iron: 7mg | Blue WW Smartpoints: 3 | Green WW Smartpoints: -19 | Purple WW Smartpoints: 3

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