Pear and goat's cheese salad recipe
Get your Christmas feast started right with this simple, flavoursome veggie starter ready in just 25 minutes. Sweet and mellow pears pair with tangy goat's cheese, crisp watercress and a cranberry vinaigrette for a comforting festive bite.
See method- Serves 6 as a starter
- 25 mins to prepare
- 166 calories / serving
- Gluten-free
- Vegetarian
- Healthy
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 3 ripe seasonal pears
- 80g pack watercress, spinach & rocket
- 1 rosemary sprig, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 125g pack soft goat’s cheese
- 2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
For the cranberry vinaigrette
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp cranberry sauce
- ¼ tsp Dijon mustard
Each serving contains
- Energy
- 690kJ 166.0kcal
- Fat
- 10g
- Saturates
- 4g
- Salt
- 0.1g
- Sugars
- 11g
of the Reference intake
Carbohydrate 12.1gProtein 5.2gFibre 2.9g
Method
- Put the onion in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water; set aside for 5 mins, then drain.
- Meanwhile, put the lemon juice in a mixing bowl and half-fill with cold water. Core the pears, slice each into 6 wedges, then transfer to the lemon-water.
- Put all the vinaigrette ingredients in a jug and use a hand blender to blitz smooth; season to taste. Add 1-2 tsp water as needed to loosen.
- Toss together the salad leaves, onion, half the rosemary and 2 tbsp cranberry vinaigrette. Transfer to a serving platter, top with the pears, then crumble over the goat’s cheese and scatter with the almonds and remaining rosemary. Drizzle with the remaining dressing to serve.
- Tip: Thyme or parsley will work just as well as rosemary; you can also swap the flaked almonds for pecans, or toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
- See more Pear recipes
