There are countless permutations possible because the filling can be any mixture of mincemeat, pumpkin, and/or cranberry sauce, but this is my personal preference.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 20 mins |
| Servings: | 2 |
| Yield: | 2 servings |
Ingredients
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 (15.25 ounce) can pears in light syrup, drained reserving syrup
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fat-free vanilla yogurt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- ½ (10 ounce) package mixed salad greens
- ½ (10 ounce) bag spinach leaves
- 1 pear – peeled, cored and sliced
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Combine sugar, cinnamon and walnuts in a skillet over medium heat. Mix together until sugar and cinnamon are melted and walnuts are evenly coated. Remove from heat. Spread walnuts on a large plate to cool.
- In the container of a blender, combine the drained pears, 1/3 cup of the reserved syrup from the can, vinegar, yogurt, honey, salt, pepper, vanilla extract, and nutmeg; blend until smooth.
- Assemble the salad by tossing together the mixed greens, spinach, pear slices, dried cherries, feta cheese, and walnuts in a serving bowl. Serve with dressing on the side.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 1000 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 129 g |
| Cholesterol | 39 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 17 g |
| Protein | 23 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 1297 mg |
| Sugars | 96 g |
| Fat | 49 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I used cranberries instead of cherries, gorgonzola instead of feta, added small cubes of green apple for more people. I also baked the walnuts for eight minutes in the oven first to roast, and cooked sugar mixure in pan mixed later, layed them on wax paper
I like the overall concept of this salad, it makes me think of a salad you could find at any chain sandwich/bakery shop. I am NOT too horribly crazy about the dressing flavour, I scaled the salt back to 1/4 tsp and the white wine vinegar to 2 Tbsp, and that wasn’t the issue I had. I didn’t like the flavour the honey gave. I think that if I make the vinaigrette again that I’ll use Lyles Golden syrup. Over all this is a nice refreshing change of pace!
Interesting combination but tasted good. Nice change of pace from a true vinagrette dressing> thanks for sharing!
Decrease salt to a pinch, 1/8 tsp, and a little less vinegar! It makes all the difference in the world, and you have a sweet pear puree to drizzle over your greens and fruit! Perfect!
salad with fruit and feta was great. candied walnuts were perfect. the dressing was awful!!! replace it with something else and you have a great salad.
What a great find. Fixed this for a friends birthday it was a huge hit. Even the dressing which I wasn’t sure about. Thanks for sharing
I did not care for this recipe. Making the nuts the way it says, when the sugar hardens, the pan and utinsels used are coated with an extremly hard sugar. I did not care for the dressing. I threw it out and made something different.
YUMMY! This salad is light and refreshing. My husband loved it, especially with the surgared walnuts on it. It is sweet but oh so good. Thanks