Pear, Pecan and Cranberry Salad with Honey Goat Cheese Dressing

Whenever I eat goat cheese I wonder why I don’t use it more often.  I love its tang and creaminess.  Even the tiniest of crumbles of the stuff can transform a dish.  The honey goat cheese dressing on this salad was so tasty, and took an already great salad to another level of deliciousness.

My mother in law turned me on to skinnytaste.com after making two meals for us with recipes from the site.  Both tasted great and were pretty healthy.  If you do Weight Watchers, then you’re in luck because Gina includes the points.

I added some grilled chicken to this salad to make it a meal.  Instead of apples I used pears, which I think pair better with the other ingredients.  You must, must, must toast the pecans.  The flavor of any nut is improved by a quick toasting in the oven or in a dry skillet on the stove.  Do the same when you are adding pecans, walnuts or almonds to baked goods.  They just taste better.  So take the extra 5 minutes.  You’ll be glad you did.

This salad recipe used measurements for the apples and cranberries, but I just added what I wanted.  This probably messes with the points, so here is the link to Gina’s original recipe.  If you don’t care so much about counting out how many cranberries or slices of apple you can use, then just pile on a plate the following ingredients and top with the dressing.

  • Spring mix or baby spinach
  • Dried cranberries
  • 1 Bosc Pear, sliced
  • Toasted pecans, halves or pieces
  • Grilled chicken, sliced (optional)

The dressing was a little on the thick side when I made it, so I added a little more water, lemon juice and a touch of olive oil to loosen it up a bit.  After storing the leftover dressing in the fridge it was no longer pour able, so either let it warm up at room temp before you plan to use it again, or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds and stir it up.  Enjoy!

Honey Goat Cheese Dressing

Courtesy of skinnytaste.com

Ingredients

  • 4 oz goat cheese, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tbsp honey
  • 2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1-2 tbsp water
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. In a small blender, combine goat cheese, honey, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, water.
  2. Season to taste with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Add more lemon juice, water, or oil to create desired consistency.