Meatless Monday: Spinach & Pear Salad
I cried on Monday evening.
This wasn’t an “I saw the newest E*Trade commercial with all the newborn babies” cry, or even a “Can’t fall asleep, thanks to my bass-thumping neighbor” cry. No, this one was even sillier. I cried over a piece of fruit.
A Bosc pear to be exact. See, my recent aversion to the smell/texture/mention of meat means that I’ve had to get more creative with my dinners. I have, in recent weeks, become particularly enamored of an Epicurious salad recipe. The combination of flavors is perfect, and the addition of walnuts and cheese provide me with some much-needed protein. So on Monday night, I made my salad, and settled in to watch The Bachelor. I took my first bite, expecting it to be glorious as usual. But the pear? Totally underripe. My response? A total meltdown. My creation put the ‘pear’ in ‘despair.’
Anyway, really stupid jokes and prego hormones aside, you HAVE to try this salad (and the dressing is particularly perfect):
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 1 1/2 tsps chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 c. olive oil
- 5 oz. spinach
- 2 large Bosc pears, chopped (make sure they’re ripe!)
- 1 c. crumbled blue cheese (pasteurized, of course)
- 1 c. walnuts, chopped
Toss spinach, pears, blue cheese and walnuts in large bowl. Combine other ingredients to form dressing and shake well. Stir into salad.
Serves:4-6; Time: 5 minutes
Original recipe: http://www.epicurious.com:80/recipes/food/views/Baby-Greens-Pear-Walnut-and-Blue-Cheese-Salad-107065#ixzz1oRxsrCPH
