Sometimes it’s hard to come up with new things to share with you here on the blog. It’s something like having writer’s block. Except with pots and pans. A cooking block? So whenever that happens, I always try to think back to recipes that I loved as a child. Those dishes that were special favorites and still make me smile today.
This recipe was inspired by one of those childhood favorites. A luscious pear salad.
I think I remember Mama saying she learned the recipe in her high school Home Economics class, but I could be wrong about that. No matter. It was one of my most favorite things that she put on the table during my childhood years.
The salad consisted of a halved pear topped with a little dollop of mayonnaise and plenty of grated cheddar cheese. Yum. So simple and so delicious. The contrast of the acid bite of pear with the smooth, creamy mayonnaise and the tangy cheddar cheese was just an unbeatable combination. I still serve that salad even after all these years and I never tire of it.
But I thought maybe I’d do a little update of it. Not to make improvements really, just to put a little different spin on it. That’s how this Pear Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing came about. I used sliced, fresh pears topped with a lightened blue cheese dressing and toasted almonds for a little crunchy texture. And it is just divine.
Truth time – I made this while BeeBop was working in the garage on a project and ate the whole thing before he came back in the house. He didn’t even get a taste :-)
The first step is to make the dressing. Combine the yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, blue cheese, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir together until well mixed. Stir in a little milk or cream until the mixture is the consistency you like for dressing. Set aside.
Toast the slivered almonds in a 350 degree oven. Watch carefully since they will burn easily. I speak from experience.
Halve the pears, remove the core and slice crosswise.
Transfer each sliced pear to a lettuce-lined salad plate. Drizzle with dressing and top with toasted almonds. Add additional blue cheese crumbles if desired.
Enjoy!
Fresh, sliced pears topped with tangy blue cheese dressing and toasted slivered almonds.
Ingredients
- Fresh pears, core removed, sliced
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- Lettuce
- Crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
- 1 tblsp. lemon juice
- 1-2 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
- 1-2 tblsp. milk or cream
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Make the dressing – combine the yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, blue cheese, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir until well combined. Add enough milk or cream to create the consistency you like. Set aside.
- Toast the almonds – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Check after about 6 minutes and watch closely to prevent burning. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- For each serving, place a sliced pear atop a lettuce-lined salad plate. Drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and additional crumbled blue cheese.
Other pear salad recipes you might enjoy from around the internet:
- Roasted Red Onion and Pear Salad from Two Peas and Their Pod
- Eclectic Recipes’ Pear Salad with Walnuts and Feta
- Sugar-Crusted Fennel and Pear Salad from Buff Chickpea
- Verses from My Kitchen’s Pear Roquefort Salad
- Cranberry Pear Salad from What’s Cooking Chicago?
What I was cooking…
- One year ago: Candied Pecan Cheese Braid
- Two years ago: Ziti Bake
- Three years ago: Chinese Chicken Salad
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I love blue cheese and pears together and this simple salad is a “must try”! Love it!
Megan – I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! It’s a favorite here.
Love this salad!
Thanks, Maria.
yes Lana, I do love your updated version… grew up on that same pear salad too, our moms must have had the same teacher. Pinned this as it will be on our menu soon – have a great week and enjoy this fine weather…
After I wrote this post I did a Google search to see if anybody had ever posted that old pear-mayo-cheese salad. You’d be surprised at how many accounts there are online! And everyone loved it. Talked about how their mamas and grandmas made it all the time. Those old classics are just the best, aren’t they?
Oh I am so totally making that dressing
Good for much more than just this pear salad, too :-)
Can’t wait to try this updated version of a salad I also enjoyed. I make it now for my grandsons and add a maraschino cherry on top.
Still a great classic recipe, isn’t it Gay?
I love the simplicity of it and the childhood memories.
Pears and blue cheese are one of my all-time favorite food combinations and this salad looks out of this world good!!
Sounds like a perfect post to me! I love the idea of adding blue cheese to a pear salad, sounds refreshing! Hugs, Terra
I love the combination of pears and blue cheese; it’s one of my favorite salads. This looks so pretty Lana; makes me want to run out and find some pears stat!
Even though I’ve always been a plain green salad fan for most of my life I’ve been mixing fruit into salads for a couple of months now and I love trying new combinations. These pears look perfectly juicy:)