July is here and it is bringing the heat! The temperature in my city will be in the high 90's for the next week. If you are finding that it is too hot to cook, then this Apple, Pear and Walnut Salad a great way to put together a healthy meal without turning on the stove or oven. I love the combination of fresh sliced pears and apples in a salad. The crispness of the apple and the sweetness of the pear pair really well with a spring mix salad. I got all of my ingredients from Traders's Joes except the balasmic glaze that I added on top. I highly recommend their Pear Champagne Vinaigrette salad dressing. The reason that I love this salad dressing is because it has gorgonzola cheese in the dressing. Yum! Gorgonazola cheese is at the top of my list of my favorite cheeses.
Gorgonzola is one of the world's oldest blue-veined cheeses. The Cheese is mainly produced in the northern Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy, Gorgonzola. Unskimmed cow's milk is used while preparing the cheese. Generally, it takes three to four months to attain full ripeness. This cheese has a crumbly and soft texture with a nutty aroma. It can have a mild to sharp taste depending on its age. If you like blue cheese, then you will enjoy this cheese as well.
Below are all the ingredients you need to recreate this salad. As I mentioned, the salad dressing is from Trader Joe's but the Balsamic Glaze that I used in my salad was purchased at Wegman's.
Serves 2
1 bag of spring mix lettuce
1/4 of a red onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup of halved walnuts
1/2 of an apple
1/2 of a pear
4 tablespoons of gorgonzola cheese
Drizzle of Balsamic Glaze
Wash the lettuce and place in a large bowl.
Add sliced apple, pear, red onions and walnuts to the salad and toss.
Top with walnuts and gorgonzola cheese.
Drizzle the balsamic glaze on top.
Add fresh cracked black pepper and salad dressing to taste.