Winter Green Salad Pear Walnuts (Printable version)

Crisp winter greens combined with pear, walnuts, and tangy dressing for a light, flavorful dish.

# What You'll Need:

→ Salad

01 - 3.5 oz baby kale or mixed winter greens
02 - 3.5 oz arugula
03 - 2 ripe pears, cored and thinly sliced
04 - 2.1 oz walnuts, roughly chopped
05 - 2.1 oz crumbled blue cheese or goat cheese (optional)
06 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
07 - 1 pomegranate, seeds only (optional)

→ Dressing

08 - 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
09 - 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
10 - 1 tsp Dijon mustard
11 - 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
12 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

# Directions:

01 - Toast walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
02 - In a large bowl, mix baby kale, arugula, sliced pears, red onion, pomegranate seeds if using, and cooled walnuts.
03 - Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl or jar until emulsified.
04 - Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine all ingredients evenly.
05 - Top with crumbled blue or goat cheese if desired, then serve immediately.

# Expert advice:

01 -
  • It balances sweet, peppery, and tangy in a way that makes you forget salad can be boring.
  • Everything comes together in under twenty minutes, even if you stop to snack on the walnuts.
  • The textures—crisp greens, soft pear, crunchy nuts—keep every bite interesting.
02 -
  • Don't skip toasting the walnuts, I did once to save time and the salad tasted flat and one-dimensional.
  • Dress the salad just before serving or the greens turn sad and soggy, especially the arugula.
  • If your pears are underripe, let them sit on the counter for a day or two, hard pears have no flavor and won't slice nicely.
03 -
  • Run your knife under cold water before slicing the pears, it keeps them from browning as fast.
  • Massage the kale with a tiny bit of olive oil before adding the other greens, it softens the leaves just enough without making them soggy.
  • Taste a walnut after toasting, if it's bitter you've gone too far and they'll need to be tossed and started fresh.

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