Honey Roasted Pear and Walnut Salad

steam oven roasted pear and walnut salad

4.67 from 6 votes

Honey Roasted Pear and Walnut Salad

With sticky sweet pears, roasted walnuts and tart cranberries, this salad is welcome on any table as a side dish. Turn it into a main meal by adding grilled chicken or poached eggs.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: honey roasted pear and walnut salad, pear and walnut salad, roasted pears

Servings:

Calories: 514kcal

Ingredients

3 pears 3 large or 4 small, cored and cut into eighths (no need to peel)
½ tsp salt flaky
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 tbs honey
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup walnuts or pecans
8 cups salad greens mixed leaves (this is about 200g, depending on what you use)
3 oz manchego cheese
½ cup dried cranberries or cherries

Dressing:

4 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp dijon mustard
½ tsp salt flaky
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C, combination steam setting. If your oven has variable steam settings, select 50%. If not, don’t worry! Just set to combi steam at the correct temperature and the oven will work out the humidity for you.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and put the pears in, spreading them into a single layer. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and drizzle the honey and oil over the top. Bake until the pears are tender but not too soft, about 12-15 minutes.
Remove the pears from the oven and add the walnuts. Mix to evenly coat the pears and nuts in the cooking juices, then return the pan to the oven until the walnuts are toasted, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. If you’re preparing ahead, refrigerate the pears and walnuts for up to 24 hours, until about 30 minutes before serving. Allow them to come to room temperature before assembling the salad.
While the pears and walnuts are cooling, make the dressing. Mix all the ingredients together in a jar with a lid, shaking to combine. The dressing can be made and stored in the fridge several days ahead of time.
Scatter the leaves over a large platter or into a bowl. Arrange the pears and nuts along with any cooking juices over the leaves, then drizzle dressing generously over the salad. Shave the cheese over the top and scatter with cranberries. Serve immediately.

Notes

This quantity makes 6-8 side serves, or 4 main meal sized serves (see next note).
The addition of some cooked chicken, poached eggs or thinly sliced prosciutto will comfortably turn this salad into a main meal.
Once you’ve roasted the pears and walnuts, which can be done ahead of time, the salad comes together quickly.
Use firm pears for this dish rather than very ripe ones, as they’ll hold their shape better. I find even sad, under-ripe supermarket pears work, as the oven transforms them into something perfumed and floral that they’d never achieve eaten raw.
I love a mixture of leafy green and bitter salad leaves for this dish, but use whatever appeals. The pictured salad has baby cos plus green and red oak leaf lettuces.
Manchego is a firm Spanish sheep's milk cheese, similar in texture to parmesan but creamier and less crumbly. If you don’t like (or can’t get) Manchego, Italian pecorino or a creamy blue cheese are also excellent with the other flavors in this salad.

Nutrition