Honey Pear Vinaigrette with Prosciutto Blue Cheese Salad
Here’s one for your palate, Honey Pear Vinaigrette with Prosciutto Blue Cheese Salad! Yes, I’m on a roll sharing my favorite salads and dressings, so take it all in.
Making dressings and vinaigrette’s are to simple to make yourself, seriously 5 minutes or so and you’ve got a gorgeous dressing ready to drizzle over your favorite salad. When you make your own, not only is it fresh, but you can adjust the taste to suit your preference and the best part is that you know exactly what is in there.
I obviously have my personal favorite dressings and vinaigrette’s. If I’m in the mood for something creamy, It’s Blue Cheese dressing all the way for me. Some days, it’s straight olive oil and balsamic or lemon juice with a dash of salt and pepper with maybe a fresh clove of garlic minced in. Lately, I’ve been on the fruity kick and it’s been a toss between Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette and today’s Honey Pear Vinaigrette.
The Honey Pear Vinaigrette takes advantage of the natural sweetness of pears with the added sweet bonus of honey. In order to really get the full flavor of the honey and pear, I used a base of grapeseed oil and white wine vinegar. You could also use canola oil or white vinegar if you were unable to find the grapeseed oil. The Honey Pear Vinaigrette will be a velvety, slightly sweet, drizzle worthy concoction of beauty that if I’m left alone with for too long, I might drink it straight.
Drizzle this Honey Pear Vinaigrette warmed or chilled over your favorite salad, use as a marinade for chicken or in the Prosciutto Blue Cheese Salad that I’ve shared with you below.
Dress your greens!
Honey Pear Vinaigrette with Prosciutto Blue Cheese Salad
Make this slightly sweet Honey Pear Vinaigrette to drizzle over your salads, use as a marinade or by the spoonful!
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette:
- 1 large Pear, peeled and roughly chopped (I like to use Bosc Pears)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil (can use Canola or light flavored oil)
- 1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar (can use Distilled White Vinegar)
- 1 Tbls Honey
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 tsp Salt
For the Salad (amounts vary according to servings needed):
- Sliced Prosciutto or Parma ham
- Arugula or your favorite lettuce
- Red Onion, thinly sliced
- 1 - 2 Pears, thinly sliced
- Blue Cheese or Feta Cheese, crumbled
- Golden Raisins, optional
- Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds or Pine Nuts, lightly toasted in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 2 - 3 minutes
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small saucepan with 1/4 cup of Water, add the roughly chopped Pears and bring to a gently boil, reduce and simmer for about 8 - 10 minutes. Drain and puree using a blender or stick blender.
- In a medium bowl, add the Pear puree and the rest of the Vinaigrette ingredients down to the Salt and puree until well combined.
- Can be served warm or chilled. Keep stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- For the Salad, pile a small amount of the Arugula, topped off with the Red Onion, Blue Cheese, Raisins and toasted Nuts. Can top off with the Pear slices and Prosciutto or serve them on the side as seen in the picture. Drizzle desired amount of Honey Pear Vinaigrette over all and serve.
Enjoy!
- *Vinaigrette yields about 1 1/2 cups.
Stacey is a Southern girl with a taste for travel, thriving on the discovery of the world through food. After spending many years traveling and living overseas, she’s now back home in her beloved deep south enjoying life with her three little ones and loving the adventure. She’s a food stylist and food photographer, as well as, the creative behind Little Figgy Food, where she loves to inspire others to try new flavors and foodie techniques.
