This Pear Salad with feta Cheese, apples and Walnuts combined with my 5 Ingredient Quick Salad Dressing is one of the best and easiest vegetarian salad recipes that you must try for thanksgiving dinner.
Sweet Fruits and salty feta cheese make an excellent combination. We limit our cheese intake at home but feta cheese is my guilty pleasure! Once a quarter, I buy a block of feta only to make salads incorporating fresh seasonal fruits.
Watermelon and Feta is a classic salad recipe and loved by many. We quite enjoy Strawberry Arugula Feta Salad when its berry season!
We love a big bowl of salad for lunch. Paired with a light Tomato Soup, some roasted vegetables, they make a light yet refreshing meal. And the best part is you end up consuming a good portion of veggies in one meal.
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We absolutely love Pears. The "Bell shaped" fruit that is also called "Nashpati" in India. Similar to apples, these are versatile and can be added to desserts and salads with equal ease.
Pears are both soft and crunchy. In India, pears are available during monsoons and they are in season for a couple of months.
Ingredients
Pears Similar to Green Pears available in USA, also known as Green Anjou, Indian pears are also a mix of slightly crispy and very sweet in taste.
Red Pears are not locally grown in India and also not easily available in Supermarkets. The ones we do get are expensive as they are exported from the US.
You can use any variety of pears as available. Use a combination of slightly crisp and sweet as they are perfect for salads.
Feta Cheese - 100 grams of Crumbled Feta is used for this recipe. I have used a vegetarian feta cheese with No Animal Rennet.
Apples - I have used Kashmiri Red Apples (local Indian variety). You can use Granny Smith Apples for this recipe. They are perfect as they have a mild tang in addition to being sweet in taste.
Lettuce - You can use Iceberg, romaine lettuce, Lollo Rosso or Arugula (rocket leaves) instead. You could also use a combination of these greens to bulk up the salad.
Ensure you wash the greens and drain them well using a salad spinner. This prevents the salad from getting soggy.
Bell Pepper - I have used Capsicum or Bell Pepper. Add any colour of your choice.
Walnuts - Can be easily replaced with pine nuts, brazil nuts, macademia nuts or simple almonds. You can either toast them or add them plain - your choice!
Black Olives - Elevates the taste of the salty feta cheese.
Note - Another reason I add olives to pretty much all my salads are because they are my husbands favorite. No supermarket visit is complete without a bottle of olives. He absolutely loves the black ones or Kalamata Olives.
You can add sliced Onions or pickled red onions to the salad but I have kept it onion-free.
Some toasted sourdough, pita chips or garlic croutons also make a lovely addition. You can either let the bread soak the dressing and juices from the veggies or add them just before serving. We prefer the latter.
5 ingredient Salad Dressing Recipe
Salads can be boring if you only serve chopped and tossed veggies. You need an interesting salad dressing.
You don't need a ton of ingredients to make an interesting dressing that your family will love. If your goal is to eat clean, making things from scratch should be first on your agenda.
My 5 ingredient simple salad dressing recipe is super quick and easy that your family will love. Best part is - it uses pantry staples.
Another great part about using homemade salad dressing is you can control the amount of sodium and preservatives - Clean Eating!
- Black Pepper Powder
- Himalayan Pink Salt (Regular salt or sea salt can be used)
- Jaggery (No refined sugar used) or Use Coconut Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Olive Oil
If you haven't tried Jaggery, now is a good time. We prefer cooking with less processed food / ingredients and jaggery is a great replacement to white sugar.
You can totally replace it with honey, agave or maple syrup but I would totally recommend trying this ingredient once.
Tips to Make Ahead the Salad
Except pears and apples (because they discolor once they are cut), you can prep your veggies a day ahead. This is particularly helpful if you are planning to make this for thanksgiving for a crowd or weeknight dinner for family.
Fruits like Pears and Apples are best eaten fresh and once they are pre-cut, the discoloration happens and the taste is affected too.
If you are really hard-pressed for time, you can chop the fruits and soak them in a bowl filled with water and lemon juice. Citrus fruits prevents oxidization. However, would totally recommend this only in case of emergency or rush.
Salad Dressing should be added only when you are ready to serve. Always save a tablespoon or two of crumbled feta to sprinkle on top, just before serving.
This hearty salad serves 4 to 6 people as an appetizer or a side with main course. As lunch, this would serve 2 people.
This is an everyday salad recipe and can be easily customized according to seasonal ingredients. When pears are in season (holidays), this would make a great addition to the thanksgiving lunch or dinner with family.
Step-wise Instructions to Make Pear Salad for Holiday Season
Immerse lettuce leaves in a bowl of water. Clean them well, drain excess water in a colander and pat them dry with a kitchen towel OR use a salad spinner.
Roughly chop the pears and apples into thick cubes and add it to the bowl.
Now add the sliced olives and chopped capsicum (bell pepper). Refrigerate this for atleast 30 minutes.
In a separate bowl, add all the ingredients for the salad dressing (jaggery + salt + pepper + olive oil + lemon juice). Mix well and keep aside.
Once you toss all the ingredients for the salad, crumble the block of feta cheese and add it to the salad.
Now pour the salad dressing all over, add chopped walnuts and toss once again. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- The best part about salads are you can always customize according to your taste and preferences. You can either add a mix of vegetables or lettuce greens available.
- Refrigerate your ingredients for atleast 30 minutes before adding the dressing and serving. Salads with fruits and cheese always taste best chilled.
Other Vegetarian Salad Recipes
Greek Salad - Another Salad Recipe using Feta Cheese.
Sprouts Salad (No Oil Recipe)
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Pear Salad with Feta Cheese, Apples and Walnuts
Ingredients
- 3 Pears
- 2 Apples
- 1 head Lettuce Approx 5 cups of roughly torn lettuce
- 20 Black Olives (Sliced)
- ½ cup Capsicum Finely chopped
- 100 grams Feta Cheese vegetarian feta used, no animal rennet
- 2 tablespoon Chopped Walnuts
FOR THE SALAD DRESSING
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
- 1 ½ tablespoon Jaggery powdered jaggery used
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
- 1 Lemon (Juice extracted) or 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Prep the lettuce by giving it a good rinse and spin in a salad spinner to remove excess moisture. You could also pat dry the leaves using a kitchen towel. Add to a bowl and roughly tear them.
- Wash, Core and roughly chop the pears and apples into thick cubes and add it to the bowl.
- Now add the sliced olives and chopped capsicum (bell pepper). Refrigerate for atleast 30 minutes or until serving.
- In a separate bowl, add all the ingredients for the salad dressing (jaggery + salt + pepper + olive oil + lemon juice). Mix well and keep aside. Note - If you are serving this later, mix and refrigerate in a bottle.
- Before serving, crumble the feta and add to the salad. Pour the salad dressing and walnuts. Toss well and serve.
Notes
- The best part about salads are you can always customize according to your taste and preferences. You can either add a mix of vegetables or lettuce greens available.
- Refrigerate your ingredients for atleast 30 minutes before adding the dressing and serving. Salads with fruits and cheese always taste best chilled.
Taking this recipe to the A to Z challenge this month wherein we choose to cook with key ingredients Alphabetically. This month it was time for Alphabet ‘P’. I chose my key ingredient ‘Pear’ to make this delicious salad recipe.
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We will be back again with yet another exciting recipe .. Until then, stay healthy and happy!
Vidya Narayan