Autumn Pear Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing

Autumn Pear Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing puts garlic clove, olive oil and balsamic vinegar at the center of a salad recipe and finishes in about 20 minutes, enough for 8 servings.

• Yield 8 servings
• Ready in 20 minutes

Ingredients

Maple Balsamic Dressing

• 1 medium garlic clove , scored (meaning the surface of the clove is lightly cut a few times)
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup , not pancake syrup
• ¼ cup half-and-half or whole milk
• Pinch of coarse kosher salt

Salad

• 6-8 cups chopped green and red leaf lettuces
• 2 ripe pears , cored and thinly sliced
• 2 ounces Asiago cheese , shaved with a vegetable peeler (or shredded)
• ½ – ¾ cup chopped , toasted cashews
• ½ cup pomegranate arils , craisins or dried cherries would be a good substitute

Instructions

1. For the dressing, put the scored garlic clove in a jar and add all the other dressing ingredients. Put a lid on the jar and shake like your life depends on it. Refrigerate until ready to serve (this can be made a week or so in advance). Shake to recombine ingredients before using. If the dressing is overly thick out of the fridge, microwave it for 5-10 seconds to help loosen it up.
2. For the salad, add the lettuce to a large bowl. Drizzle some of the dressing over the lettuce until lightly coated. Add the pears, cheese, cashews and pomegranate arils to the top and just lightly toss. Drizzle on extra dressing to taste. Serve immediately.
3. Alternately, you can toss all the salad ingredients together and serve the dressing separately for individuals to add as they like.

Dress it just before it goes to the table so the leaves stay crisp.