Carmelized Onion and Pear Salad

06 Nov Carmelized Onion and Pear Salad

I’m a big fan of adding fruit to salads, but you have to be sure to “pear” it right, or it just seems out of place.  Ok, bad joke… but good salad.  In this recipe you can sub in a pre-made spring mix for the greens, I just happened to have a boatload of different greens from my shopping trip so I made my own green mix.

If you’re in charge of bringing the salad for any event, I highly recommend this one over your standard green salad.  It’ll make you seem like a fancy person, but it’s pretty simple to make.   Using a veggie peeler for the carrots is a nice little aesthetic touch, but it also gives it a good texture.  If you are making this ahead of time, you may want to keep the cooked part & dressing separate until you are ready to serve.

If you want to make a meal out of this and need a little more protein, some shrimp would probably go well with this. Just add them in with the pears and onions when cooking.  And if you are a dairy eater, you could probably throw on a little goat cheese or feta as well.

Carmelized Onion and Pear Salad Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Total time: 15 minutes

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• For the Salad:
• 1 head of green leaf lettuce, chopped
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
• 2 handfuls of baby arugula
• 1/2 carrot, sliced with a peeler
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 green Anjou pear, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp slivered almonds or pine nuts
• For the Dressing:
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

Heat a pan on medium heat with a tablespoon of coconut oil and add the onions. Let them cook for about 5 minutes until they start to turn translucent, then add the pears and cook for another 5 minutes until the pear softens and browns slightly.

Mix the dressing. Add 1/3 to the pan just before removing from the heat (1 minute).

Assemble the greens on a plate or bowl. For the carrots, peel off the outer layer with a vegetable peeler and then continue to peel layers into the greens so that you get very thin carrot strips. Add the remaining dressing and toss to coat.

Mix in the onions, pears and nuts and top with some fresh cracked pepper and sea salt