10-Minute Pear Vinaigrette for a Fall Harvest Salad
This 10-minute pear vinaigrette is perfect for fall and winter salads. Just whirl a pear, pear vinegar, mustard, and olive oil in a blender and season to taste. Recipe makes about 1 cup vinaigrette.
Servings: 8
Calories: 92.4kcal
Equipment
- Mini chopper
Ingredients
- 1 Bartlett or Bosc pear see Ingredient Notes
- 5 tablespoons pear vinegar see Ingredient Notes
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Peel, seed, and coarsely chop the pear. Be sure to cut out any bruised areas.
- Throw everything EXCEPT the olive oil into a mini-chopper, or the bowl of the food processor fitted with a metal blade. Whirl around enough to break up the pear.
- Add the olive oil and whirl to completely emulsify, about 30 seconds. If you whisk the olive oil into the dressing by hand, do not add the oil all at once. It's best to gradually drizzle it in at first until an emulsion is apparent.
- Test the ratio balance of oil to vinegar for the salad you plan to dress by dipping a leaf of the greens into the dressing and tasting it. Do not judge the ratio by only tasting the vinaigrette. Adjust ratio and seasonings as needed before serving.
Notes
Ingredient Notes
- Pear - Bartlett pears, Bosc pears and Anjou pears all work great. But make sure the pear is ripe since the recipe calls for it to be puréed. Choose a pear that's unbruised, undamaged, and is firm but easily presses in around its stem. A squishy, over-ripe pear will not provide a bright pear flavor in this vinaigrette recipe.
- Pear vinegar - If you can't find pear vinegar, use champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, or white balsamic vinegar.
- Extra Virgin Olive oil - Other neutral salad oil such as avocado oil or grape seed oil work well in this dressing.
Nutrition
Calories: 92.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 3.5g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 8.8g | Saturated Fat: 1.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.4g | Sodium: 152.8mg | Potassium: 27.9mg | Fiber: 0.7g | Sugar: 2.2g | Vitamin A: 6.3IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3.4mg | Iron: 0.1mg