Grilled Pear, Gorgonzola and Pecan Arugula Salad
This Grilled Pear, Gorgonzola and Pecan Arugula Salad is surprisingly easy to make. Top it with a tasty, homemade Honey Balsamic Dressing for an extra boost of flavor!
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Pears are one of my favorite late-Fall fruits. Pear season actually starts in late summer, but for some reason I always associate pears with the Fall. Once the air starts to get a bit crisp in the evenings, I start craving pears. And I’m not the only one in my house that craves pears. My dog absolutely loves pears. I kid you not. I’ve mentioned his love for green apples before, but pears are obviously right there on his list, too. I pull out a pear and a knife, and Mr. Max comes trotting right over. I swear he has a sixth sense when it comes to apples and pears!
A few months back, my wife and I discovered a local farm that delivers huge bags of lettuce every week. The mix varies from week to week, and we have yet to be disappointed. The lettuce is picked on Tuesday or Wednesday and then delivered on Thursday. Needless to say, we’ve become quite addicted to salads lately!
Grilled Pear, Gorgonzola and Pecan Arugula Salad
Fortunately for me, the grill isn’t covered with snow (yet), so I decided to grill up some pears and create a delicious (and easy!) salad. (If your grill is covered with snow, then the pears could be grilled indoors in a grill pan, too.) The natural sugars in the pears caramelize once they hit the hot grill. Toss those grilled pears in a salad along with some stinky cheese and toasted pecans, and you’ve got a restaurant quality salad! I chose arugula as the base for this salad because I love its peppery flavor…especially combined with the sweetness of the grilled pears. Truthfully, though, any lettuce would work great for this salad.
I also whipped up a quick and easy Honey Balsamic Dressing. Sounds fancy, right? Well, guess how easy it is to make? Maybe 3-4 minutes…tops. And I gotta say, the sweetness from the grilled pears and the dressing partners quite well with the strong flavors from the arugula and Gorgonzola cheese. Add in the crunch of the toasted pecans, and you’ve got one heck of a delicious lunch! My wife and I actually made a big batch of this salad and then broke it into individual containers for lunches for the week. Nice and easy. That’s how I roll. (Just hold the dressing aside until right before you eat it…otherwise the salad will get soggy.)
Did you make this Grilled Pear, Gorgonzola and Pecan Arugula Salad at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). Enjoy!
Grilled Pear, Gorgonzola and Pecan Arugula Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 2 pears
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 6 cups arugula greens
- ⅔ cup pecans halved
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅔ cup gorgonzola cheese crumbled
For the Honey Balsamic Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
- Slice pears width-wise into rings about ¾”-1” thick. Remove the seeds.
- Brush pear slices with canola oil and place on grill. Grill for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Meanwhile, place pecans on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 4-6 minutes, or until you can just begin to smell them. (Tip: Watch pecans closely as you toast them. They can burn quickly!)
- Divide the arugula into 4 equal-sized portions. Top with toasted pecans, dried cranberries, crumbled gorgonzola cheese and warm grilled pear slices.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the Dressing ingredients (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, orange juice, brown mustard, salt and pepper) until well combined.
- Drizzle salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing.
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I never used to like fruit on a salad, but I have been having it more recently and I have really been missing out.
This sounds like such a good way to have fruit on salad and I love the photos too.
I am totally the same, Dannii! I used to be anti-sweet and savory mixed together…which included fruit in salad. But this flavor combo totally works…I think the blue cheese helps balance the sweetness. Either way, it’s delicious!
Ha – both my dogs are the same way whenever I pull out a knife and cutting board! Guess they feel the same about chopped food as I do about other peoples recipes 😉 Speaking of which – the grilled pairs with that orange juiced up balsamic is such an amazing combo – bet there’s a partay in every forkful! And -y’all have lettuce delivery??? Why don’t they do stuff like that in Atlanta?
Have I finally found one thing we can get in upstate New York that you can’t get in Atlanta? This lettuce delivery is insanely good…like I’ve never eaten lettuce so good in my life. Unfortunately, they are winding down for the year since it’s too cold to grow lettuce now. But I bet there is someone in the Atlanta area that would deliver lettuce…you just gotta hope they didn’t buy at the grocery store on the way to your house. Haha! 🙂
Haha – no kidding David!
Sean @ SnackFixation mentioned a fresh pressed juice delivery service in the NYC area too – and – nope nothing like tat here either!
Grilled pears are just about the most delicious fruit ever, and oh my gah… NO YEAST in the recipe! *swooning*
Seriously delicious looking salad, Dave!
Yeah, yeah, yeah…you and your yeast, Becca! I’m expecting to hear all about these amazing yeast rolls that you are about to make. And I don’t want to hear no for an answer. Got that, missy??
I have grilled peaches but not pears and this looks great. I also want those bowls! Funny you mention you Mr. Max and the fruit, my two labradoodles, Oliver and Kodi, can’t get enough of baby carrots whenever I open the bag. Have a good one!
Carrots! There’s another one that Max loves. I’ve never seen a dog crunch on veggies like that. And lettuce? That one is hilarious to watch him eat. Oh, and those bowls? Totally scored those at the local Salvation Army for like 75 cents each. It’s hit or miss, but those stores sometimes have some awesome foodie blogger finds!
Those pears! What an awesome idea, can’t imagine the flavors. My kind of salad for sure!
Thanks, Matt! Grilled pears are quite tasty…give it a shot. Plus, I bet they’d go well on waffles! 🙂
Oh man, I need to try this grilling pear thing asap, it looks so incredibly legit.
BTW, I’m so proud of you Grilling Troll for being so inventive with the grill. You bring great honor to the wolfpack.
All hail to you!
Thank you for the kind words, Alpha. I do my best to bring glory and honor to the Wolfpack and all its proud members. But seriously, go grill some pears…they’re pretty awesome!
Oh what a great idea to grill the pears!! You are the grilling boss 🙂 Love the homemade dressing too!
Thanks, Zainab! I have to try to get my grilling fix in before all this snow comes in for Thanksgiving…but you are probably already buried in it. Make me a snowman? Maybe have him standing in front of the grill? 🙂
Salad looks lovely! I have heard in past that some dogs love fruits or vegetables. Mine German Shepherd only loves home cooked meats. Don’t even show her dog food either 🙂
Hahaha…sounds like your German Sherpherd is mighty picky. Our little one is much pickier than Max. Max is like Mikey from those old commercials…he’ll literally eat anything. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever come across something that dog wouldn’t eat!
When I was in Toronto, I got a chicken, pesto and mayo baguette and it had grilled pears it it….I removed them because I thought it was the strangest thing ever! I had to google arugula and we call it rocket here- so good with sweet stuff! This looks epic mate- and the dressing sounds good enough to drink by itself.
Oh man, that sandwich and I were channeling the same thoughts! Yes, I much prefer the term ‘rocket’…it sounds WAY cooler than arugula. But I love how peppery it is…we actually grow a huge crop of it every year, but you have to eat it when it’s fairly young. If it gets too old then it tastes like you are licking a pepper grinder. No kidding. And I ran over part of the old stuff with the lawn mower once…I almost choked from the strong smell. Crazy stuff!
LOVE this salad! And that you grilled the pears. You braved the cold all in the name of salad. I associate pears with Fall too. Probably because I like to combine them with fall spices 🙂 Pinned! I’ll be making this for sure!
Hey, salads get the short end of the stick way too often…the least I could do was get out there and show them some love. Well, that is assuming that throwing them on a searing hot grill can be called love! You know what would be good? Some grilled pears topped with a sprinkle of mace. 😉