Roasted Pear and Bacon Kale Salad with a Honey Vinaigrette

In-Season Pears and Kale Salad

I walked the grocery store this morning in search of in-season selections. Not to much surprise, this lovely month of September finds the summer fruits starting to make our way out and the coziness of the fall coming in. We also finally have some breathable (ha! not a joke) weather now. It is beginning to be bearable outside. Yes, that means we can’t breathe during the summer, but really, it does mean we needed some relief from the heat. So I thought, what would be better than a comfy and cozy Kale Salad? Nothing. It was everything I needed.

This Salad I found to be sweet, cozy, and filling. Not gonna lie, sometimes a salad can be to “froo-froo” (that’s southern for fancy and dainty), and doesn’t check the hangry box. How does this salad change that? With bacon, of course! These Roasted Red Pears are sweet heaven in your mouth and pair that with bacon, goat cheese, and honey—then put on a kale salad. Done!!

Great (Kale) Salad to pair with any:

• Pork dish
• Grilled Chicken
• Simple Steak
• Charcuterie boards
• Stuff a baguette with this salad
• turn into a crostini —goat cheese on bottom, diced roasted pears, cranberries or blueberries, on top of kale

20 minutes to perfection…

Here is how it is done:

1. Set your oven to 375 degrees, cut your pears in half and core them. Spray a light “pssh” of oil and a sprinkle of sugar. Roast for 20 minutes.
2. While the Pears are roasting, fry some bacon. I love bacon so I add several strips. Judge me if you need to.
3. Cut up your kale, massage the leaves (learn how to here) to lessen the toughness.
4. Add diced Pecans, and some Goat Cheese (in this case I used Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese, but any type of Goat Cheese will work.
5. Make the Dressing: In a 4 cup liquid measuring cup add vegetable oil, rice vinegar, water, Dijon, honey lemon, and a squeeze of lemon. Add sugar if necessary, but the tenderness of this dressing pairs so well with all the flavors.
6. Assemble, and done!!

What you can leave out or switch out:

• Pecans for almonds (preferably sliced)
• Blueberry Vanilla Goat cheese (I was lucky to even find this!) for anything that’s a light cheese like just Regular Goat Cheese or Boursin is also a good medium ground. There are so many flavors happening that you don’t want to distract with a sharp or sour cheese
• In the dressing if you don’t have Dijon —just leave it out, also with a lemon, if you don’t have any—can be optional. Always better the more you have.
• no bacon? Add pancetta or prosciutto, yum!

The Recipe

This Salad is good for any party, occasion, or simply for lunch.

‘Till next time!😘🫶

Let me know if you made this and how you love it 👇. What’s new with you? Let’s have lunch together ❤️.

Lisa McFranny-Pants