Pear Salad with Citrus Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Can you tell I'm ready for winter to come to a close? I'm pulling out some of my Spring/Summer meals. I know I should be making soup every night of the week to warm us up, but sometimes my brain is weird. I often crave hot soups in the Summer time, and fresh salads during the Winter months. Anybody with me?

This salad is very refreshing and fresh. It will put you in a state of denial and all of the sudden the dark clouds and rain that have been looming all month will turn into sunshine skies and hot days where flip flops are required.
Ok, maybe I'm just dreaming, but it's nice to pretend.

I had this salad at a tasty restaurant in my hometown called Nibbly's. I took one bite and knew I would be recreating it as soon as I got home.

Here's what you need:


For the Dresssing: (Recipe from Food and Wine)
-3 Tbs Fresh Lime juice
-3 Tbs Fresh Orange juice
-2 Tbs Fresh Grapefruit juice
-1 tsp Dijon
-1 tsp Mayo
-1 tsp Honey
-1/3 cup vegetable oil
-1 1/2 tsp Poppy seeds
- Salt/Pepper


For the Salad:
-Baby Spinach leaves
-1-2 Pears Sliced
-Feta Cheese
-Walnuts
-Dried Cranberries

Here's what you do:

Assemble Dressing:
-Whisk the juices, Dijon, mayo, and honey together until well combined.
-Continue to whisk while adding oil and poppy seeds.
-Add a little salt and pepper to taste

Assemble Salad:
-Place spinach on plates
-Sprinkle with desired amounts of walnuts, dried cranberries, and feta.
-Strategically place pears in a way that offers maximum presentation (I mean we all want to eat a salad that's not only fancy, but looks good, right? It's worth the two extra seconds...)
-Drizzle dressing on top.

Enjoy!

Pin It