Festive Pear, Grape & Candied Bacon Salad

Festive Pear, Grape & Candied Bacon Salad with pomegranate arils, baby artisan lettuce, creamy blue cheese, dried cranberries & toasted pecans all drizzled with an orange mustard vinaigrette, is the stuff salad dreams are made of. Whether you’re making this beautiful salad as part of a holiday menu or just for dinner…you need to make it. 

Are you a salads in winter person? I am. Initially I made this salad for my husband’s & my dinner one night. We’ve eaten it several times since because it’s so good. It’d make such a lovely addition to a Christmas menu, no matter what part of the world you’re in. Speaking of Christmas menus, this year I’ve asked my husband to look after the menu. Every year I decide the Thanksgiving & Christmas menu & prepare & cook it by myself. As I’m sure many of you do. I’m from a family of delegators. We decide who is making what & then all pitch in & prepare dishes for the Christmas menu. On the day everyone gets into the kitchen & helps. It’s loud & lots of fun. And stinking hot. Creating the whole menu start to finish on my own holds little appeal. I ask my husband what he’d like, his response is always the same – “I don’t mind what we have”. So for this year I’m passing the baton. He’s going to cook & I’m going to sip on wine & ice my very damage knee. Stay tuned…

Pomegranates seem to only show their faces around the festive season in North America. I know they’re available in Australia now too. How can they not be festive. Just look at them! I akin the fossicking for those ruby arils to digging crab out of its shell. You know that feeling when you crack open a leg & behold – a whole piece of crab meat? No. Oh well, it’s a joyous feeling. Pomegranates are like that. I tend to use a pairing knife & peel them, in the sink so as not to splash blood-red juice all over the white kitchen…futility at best. 

Every fabulous salad needs an equally fabulous salad dressing – malt vinegar, orange juice, brown sugar, stone-ground mustard, olive oil. Or if keeping it really simple in more your thing, then go for balsamic & olive oil, also fabulous & my go-to for most salads I make. 

Serve the salad family style on a large platter or cutting board. Or arrange the ingredients on individual plates & serve as an appetizer or a lighter meal. 

Sorry but for whatever reason my recipe card plugin is broken & has been for the last week. Hopefully it will be sorted out tomorrow. Have you started planning your Christmas menu yet? Holiday menu? Are you throwing a party? Time to do some online Christmas shopping. Chat to you soon xo

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Festive Pear, Grape & Candied Bacon Salad

Serve this salad as a meal or part of the holiday table - pomegranate arils, baby artisan lettuce, creamy blue cheese, dried cranberries & toasted pecans all drizzled with an orange mustard vinaigrette, make this the stuff salad dreams are made of. Prep the ingredients while the bacon cooks to save time. 

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time22 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Lovoni

Ingredients

• 8 strips bacon
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• generous pinch of freshly ground pepper
• 2 baby artisan lettuce trimmed, soaked & drained
• 1 cup red seedless grapes halved lengthways
• 2 ripe pears cored & sliced
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 4 oz blue cheese thinly sliced or crumbled
• 1/2 cup pecans toasted & coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup pomegranate arils (seeds)

ORANGE MUSTARD DRESSING

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons malt or sherry vinegar
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons stoneground mustard
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or honey)
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Instructions

• To make the dressing: Place all ingredients in a jar with a screw-top lid. Shake until well combined.
• Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Place bacon on greased wire rack in baking sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar & pepper. Cook bacon for 20 minutes or until brown & glazed. Let cool on rack. Coarsely chop bacon.
• Arrange lettuce in one large bowl or individual serving bowl. Drizzle with a little dressing, salt & pepper & toss to coat. Add grapes, pears, cranberries & bacon. Drizzle with remaining dressing.
• Sprinkle with blue cheese, pecans & arils