When planning a holiday meal, we tend to focus all our attention on the main dish. When we have a holiday meal, it’s usually a giant slab of protein like beef tenderloin, prime rib, turkey, or ham. You get all the yummy side dishes, but salad usually takes a back seat to the main plate. Think about how beautiful holiday salads are and what a missed opportunity it is to showcase the beautiful winter and fall vegetables like pomegranates, pears, apples, star fruit, and oranges. These fruits are so pretty on a bed of dressed greens. I have charming winter salad plates, so I try to use them whenever I can.
This ginger, praline pecan, pear, and pomegranate Asian salad is a holiday beauty or perfect Salad alongside some hearty soup and bread on a chilly winter night.
Pomegranate Asian Pear Ginger Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 box baby arugula I like @RevolGreens grown in Minnesota If you don’t like Arugula, substitute Spinach.
- 1/2 c goat cheese I like Stickney Hill Dairy
- 1 large ripe Asian pear thinly sliced – I like these pears because they cut firm like an apple
- Arils from 1 pomegranate I cut it in half and whack it with a spoon over a bowl of water and strain out the seeds
- 1/2 c Maple Praline Pecans see recipe below
Maple Praline Pecans
- 4 c whole organic pecans
- 1/2 c local organic Maple syrup
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- For spiced nuts you could add Cayenne
- For savory nuts you can add chopped rosemary micro-planed lemon peel and/or chopped dried thyme
Dressing
- 1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Salad
- Arrange the arugula across a large serving platter or your favorite shallow bowl. Sprinkle the chopped praline pecans and crumbled goat cheese over the arugula. Fan out your slices of pear and arrange them across the salad. Sprinkle all over with fresh pomegranate arils.
- To prepare the dressing, combine all of the ingredients and whisk until blended.
- Wait to dress the salad until you’re ready to serve (the dressing will wilt the greens over time). When you’re ready, drizzle the ginger dressing lightly all over the salad to taste (you might not need all of it).
Maple Praline Pecans
- Spread nuts out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and roast them low and slow for 1 hour at 290 degrees until light brown. Add nuts to a medium/large iron skillet, add 1/2 cup Maple Syrup and turn the burner to low, stir nuts around to make sure they are covered with Maple Syrup.
- The maple syrup will begin to bubble within a couple of minutes, this is beginning the caramelization process. Quickly salt the nuts while they are caramelizing and keep stirring as the syrup bubbles and begins to harden & turn to caramel sticking to the nuts in the hot pan. When there is no more bubbling of liquid remove from heat immediately! do not burn! Pour nuts onto the parchment papered pan that you used to roast the nuts and let them cool and harden.
Dressing
- Whisk ingredients until emulsified.
