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This Winter Salad with Pears, Blue Cheese & Fig Dressing is so delicious. The fig dressing is to die for. The sweet and slightly spicy nuts add a nice crunch. Lots of tasty goodness happening in this salad!
I used a combination of arugula and baby spinach but you can use any greens you prefer. Don’t like blue cheese? Swap it out for crumbled goat cheese or feta. I used Craisins (dried cranberries) but you could use golden raisins, dried cherries, etc. Use whatever nuts you like or have on hand. As you can see, this recipe is very flexible and more of an inspiration to use what you like! For me, its all about the delicious fig salad dressing and the sweet, slightly spicy nuts! I enjoyed the fig/whiskey combo in my Whiskey Fig Martini so I added a touch of whiskey to the salad dressing.
Winter Salad with Pears, Blue Cheese & Fig Dressing
Ingredients
For the Salad*
- Baby Arugula
- Baby Spinach
- 2 Pears, sliced
- 1/2 C. Gorgonzola crumbles
- 1/4 C. Craisins
Fig Dressing
- 3 Tbls. Olive oil
- 2 Tbls. Balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbls. Fig spread (jam)
- 1 tsp. Whiskey or Bourbon
- 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper
Sweet & Spicy Nuts
- 1 C. nuts (I used a combination of pecans, pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
- 3 Tbls. pure maple syrup (you could use honey or agave)
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Instructions
Make Fig Dressing: Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
Make Sweet & Spicy Nuts: Preheat oven 350°. Combine nuts ingredients and toss in bowl to coat the nuts. Spread on parchment lined baking sheet and bake about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Assemble Salad: In salad bowl, toss together salad ingredients with desired amount of fig dressing. Top with nuts.
Notes
*For the salad I don’t measure amount of greens (or other ingredients)… just fill up your salad bowl. Add more or less of everything to your liking.