Table of Contents
I love making salads combining veg, fruits and nuts. This has also got fresh goats cheese so as to please my non-vegan guests. The good news is, with this salad everyone can be pleased by adding/or not the goats cheese. This salad is perfect as a light lunch or an elegant appetiser at dinner parties. The warm, smoky notes of the pears beautifully complement the creamy, tangy goat cheese.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Grilled Pear and Fresh Goats Cheese Salad is not just a meal; it’s an experience! Truly. You’ll keep making it, I promise that.
Savoury and fruity: The greens, the cheese paired with juicy pears and pomegranate create an irresistible combination
Healthy: Packed with vitamins and minerals
Quick and easy: With minimal preparation, you can whip up this salad in a matter of minutes.
Versatile: see ideas below for swaps or additional ingredients like nuts, seeds, or proteins to suit your preferences or dietary needs
Looks beautiful: The colours of the ingredients make this salad really pretty
A real crowd pleaser: Perfect for dinner parties, festive gatherings, will be a hit amongst your guests!
Is This Grilled Pear and Fresh Goats Cheese Salad Healthy?
Yes! There are many health benefits of this beautiful salad: it’s packed with nutrients and flavours!
How to Make This Grilled Pear and Fresh Goats Cheese Salad
The dressing
My suggestion is to start with this or if you are an experienced chef and gather the ingredients before starting to cook, rather than grabbing them one by one from your cupboard as you go; you’ll have time to make the dressing whilst the pears are grilling. Otherwise, to save time, you can make it ahead.
This is a very simple lemon vinaigrette or dressing, that you can make in minutes (which is why I said, you can make it whilst the pears are grilling). Simply whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl, until fully combined. Should take under a minute.
For the dressing you need a few simple ingredients only:
- extra virgin olive oil
- freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves pressed or minced so as fine as possible – if you don’t like it very garlicky, you can add less, but in my view, this is the minimum amount of garlic in anything that needs garlic
- dijon mustard – if you haven’t got any, you can swap it for wholegrain mustard (different texture though)
The salad
Any salad will do, but I like a salad leaves that are not too crunchy and with a bit of a bitterness to it in this salad recipe. So no Iceberg, or if it has to be Iceberg, add some rocket leaves too. Goats cheese is the best, but you can substitute goats cheese – see tips below for variations.
Tips When Making This Grilled Pear and Fresh Goats Cheese Salad
- Use any kind of hard skinned, firm, not too ripe pears. Mine were just regular pears as you can see – not sure what variety, got them in my Riverford veg box.
- You can make this salad in advance and assemble it later (at least in part) – however, in my view it’s a make or break that the pears must be warm. You can make the dressing ahead, toast the pecan nuts but the pears must be warm and the cheese must be freshly out of packaging and sliced.
- Cheese variations: I used Waitrose goats cheese but gorgonzola, camembert or stilton would also work.
- You can use dried cranberries instead of pomegranate and toasted walnuts instead of pecans.
- Storing in the fridge or freezing is not recommended, best eaten fresh.
- If you layer the salad like in the recipe instructions, no tossing is needed.
Grilled pear and fresh goats cheese salad
Ingredients
For the grilled pears
- 2 pears thickly sclided
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
For the dressing
- 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic grated or pressed
- 1 tsp dijon mustard or wholegrain
- salt and pepper to taste
For the salad
- 250 g bag of fresh salad
- 50 g toasted pecan nuts
- 100 g pomegranate seeds
- 150-200 g goats cheese sliced
- 3-4 spring onion sliced
Instructions
- Heat a skillet with the olive oil and add the pear slices when the pan and the olive oil is hot. Drizzle the maple syrup over the grilling pear slices. Grill both sides for about 2-3 minutes turning them over gently, so they don't rush as they soften.
- In the meantime (or even before everything else) assemble the dressing, whisk it until it's fully combined.Layer your salad:Salad leaves bed, followed by the sliced goats cheese, then pomegranates, grilled pears and toasted pecan nuts. Drizzle over the dressing and top it with the spring onion slices.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy
You might like my other salad recipes:
Wholewheat Couscous With Roasted Butternut Squash And Kale Salad (Vegan)
Freekeh Salad with Rainbow Beets and Feta Yogurt Dressing
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Roasted Romano Peppers & Feta
Butternut Squash, Tenderstem Broccoli and Pearl Barley Salad Recipe (Vegan)
Grilled pear and fresh goats cheese salad
Ingredients
For the grilled pears
- 2 pears thickly sclided
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
For the dressing
- 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic grated or pressed
- 1 tsp dijon mustard or wholegrain
- salt and pepper to taste
For the salad
- 250 g bag of fresh salad
- 50 g toasted pecan nuts
- 100 g pomegranate seeds
- 150-200 g goats cheese sliced
- 3-4 spring onion sliced
Instructions
- Heat a skillet with the olive oil and add the pear slices when the pan and the olive oil is hot. Drizzle the maple syrup over the grilling pear slices. Grill both sides for about 2-3 minutes turning them over gently, so they don't rush as they soften.
- In the meantime (or even before everything else) assemble the dressing, whisk it until it's fully combined.Layer your salad:Salad leaves bed, followed by the sliced goats cheese, then pomegranates, grilled pears and toasted pecan nuts. Drizzle over the dressing and top it with the spring onion slices.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy