Asian Pear-Blue Cheese Arugula Salad with a Roasted Garlic Honey Vinaigrette – Chef Priyanka: Vegan Celebrity Chef, TV Host, Author

I haven’t really shared any recipe for salad with you, or what I like to refer to as ‘rabbit food,’ but I actually really like a good salad. If a salad is prepared properly and has the right combination of ingredients with the right amount of dressing, it can be really fulfilling. And that is what I’ve made recently. My parents have an obsession with salads that include apple and/or pears so I made just that for them, of course with a little chefPriyanka twist (YUM!).

Crisp baby arugula combined with juicy sweet pears and tangy Danish blue cheese makes for an extremely yummy salad- great for an appetizer, side dish or lunch.

Just a warning again about my savory cooking- I really don’t measure, so all most of these measurements are approximations

Asian Pear-Blue Cheese Arugula Salad:

1 box baby arugula
1-2 asian pears sliced (I like a lot of pears, but you can keep it at 1 pear if you’d like)
1/4 cup glazed walnuts (store bought or homemade)
1/4 cup crumbled Danish Blue Cheese (or any blue cheese)
Roasted Garlic Honey Vinaigrette (recipe below)

1. Toss all of the ingriedients together lightly, except for the blue cheese. Drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the dressing and toss to coat. Taste for salt and spice. If salad looks a bit dry, add more, but you do NOT want the salad to be drenched. Add the blue cheese, toss and serve. Be careful not to stir the salad or mix heavily, as the pears are fragile a

nd will break apart.

Roasted Garlic Honey Vinaigrette:

1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard (I used Grey Poupon)
1 tbsp honey
1 clove roasted garlic- smashed
1/2 tsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup GOOD extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red crushed pepper (or to taste)
salt
coarse black pepper

1. Whisk together the mustard, honey, garlic, oregano, vinegar and red crushed pepper. While slowly whisking the mustard mixture, drizzle in the olive oil to create a light yellow emulsion. Add some salt and pepper. Taste- it should taste tangy & sweet with a hint of spice and garlic.

Like your Greens? Try these!

Broccoli ‘a la Parmigiana’

Indian Sauteed Okra with Jalapenos & Onions

Spring Medley Pasta Salad

14 Comments

Kiri W. says:

Posted on January 17, 2012 at 2:19 pm

I love blue cheese and pears, but I have to say, the roasted garlic makes this saland sound irresistible!

chefpriyanka says:
Posted on January 31, 2012 at 11:44 pm

haha thanks!

Kim - Liv Life says:

Posted on January 19, 2012 at 8:23 pm

What a wonderful, simple salad. I didn’t become a big salad lover till my 40’s but lately I simply can’t get enough. With the arugula, pears ,and blue cheese, this one is calling my name! That garlic dressing looks divine. Nicely done!