One of my favorite main course salads is a big bowl of mixed greens topped with perfectly cooked slices of steak, all served with a creamy but tart drizzle of blue cheese vinaigrette. Yum, and yum. When I create this type of salad at home I like to vary the additional topping that I include in the mix—usually the toppings vary by season just like in my Steak & Roasted Pear Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. This hearty main course salad includes roasted pear wedges, roasted red onions, buttery pecans and fresh chives for a unique spin on flavors. The perfect salad for lunch or dinner, for company or a weeknight dinner, this is one salad that your taste buds won’t forget.
The prepared pears and red onion slices, ready to be roasted
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Steak & Roasted Pear Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
- For the vinaigrette:
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 oz. quality blue cheese, crumbled
- 2 pears, cut into wedges and cored
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
- Extra virgin olive oil, divided
- Salt & Pepper, divided
- 1-1 ½ lb. skirt steak
- 4 cups baby spinach leaves
- 4 cups romaine hearts, chopped
- ¼ cup snipped fresh chives
- 1 cup pecan halves
Directions:
- To make the vinaigrette, whisk the first 5 ingredients together in a mixing bowl until emulsified. Add in the crumbles of blue cheese and stir to combine. Set aside until you are ready to dress the salads.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the pear wedges and red onion slices on the baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and season with ¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of black pepper. Roast the pears and red onions in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the pears and onions are tender.
- There are two ways to prepare the skirt steak for this recipe. The first is to drizzle the steak with 1 Tablespoons oil, season it with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and grill on an outdoor grill, flipping once, until it is done to your likeness. The second is to place the skirt steak on a baking sheet, season the same way as mentioned in the first step, and grill on an indoor grill pan until it is cooked to your likeness. Let the steak rest for 15 minutes before slicing it into pieces for each salad.
- Place a tossed mixture of 1 cup spinach and 1 cup chopped romaine in each salad bowl or plate. Divide the strips of cooked steak and the roasted pears/onions onto each bowl as well. Sprinkle the salads with the snipped chives, pecan halves, and lastly, drizzle each salad with the blue cheese vinaigrette.
Tagged: beef, blue cheese, blue cheese vinaigrette, chives, main course salad, pears, pecans, red onions, roasted fruit, roasted pears, roasted vegetables, romaine lettuce, Salad, spinach, steak, steak salad
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