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Crunchy Vegetable Salad with Pears and Creamy Cheddar Dressing

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Crunchy Vegetable Salad with Pears and Creamy Cheddar DressingUSA Pears

From the kitchen of food blogger Hilary Finch Hutler of tummyrumblr.com comes beautiful and fresh take on a classic salad combination: fruit, nuts, and cheese. Toasted hazelnuts are the perfect match for sweet, ripe pears, and finely grated vintage cheddar cheese adds plenty of interest to the classic buttermilk dressing.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    33 minutes

  • Yield

    6 servings

Ingredients

Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 small head radicchio, chopped
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced on a diagonal
2 large USA Pears, such as Anjou or Bartlett, cored and sliced
1/3 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts

Dressing

5 tablespoons mayonnaise
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup finely grated vintage sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several turns of freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the chopped lettuce and radicchio into a large bowl of ice water to crisp, and set aside for 15 minutes. The dressing can be prepared in the meantime (see below). After 15 minutes, drain the lettuce and radicchio and spin until dry. Add the sliced celery and pears, and gently toss. Divide the salad among six plates and spoon the dressing over the top. Sprinkle each serving with the chopped hazelnuts.

    Step 2

    For the dressing: Combine all of the ingredients in a pint jar and shake vigorously to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

USA Pears
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