Bartlett Pear and Dried Cranberry Salad with Moo-Na Lisa Cheese and a Honey-Rosemary Vinaigrette
The flavors in this salad screams fall. You’ll love the honey-rosemary vinaigrette made with Sigona’s Cranberry Pear Balsamic, and the Gouda-Gruyère style Moo-na Lisa cheese brings all the flavors together beautifully.
Moo-Na Lisa is one of our three artistic, expressionistic private label cheeses. It’s a Gouda-Gruyere style cheese made exclusively for Sigona’s as a result of the relationship Nava built with local vendor Reggie Jones from Central Coast Creamery.
Central Coast Creamery, founded in Paso Robles, Calif., in 2008, is a small producer of a award-winning cheeses, including a goat Gouda and SeaScape, a mixed milk (goat and cow) English cheddar style cheese.
Reggie, the founder of the company, met with Nava last year to talk cheese, and the pair discussed developing an entirely new cheese just for our customers.
Click here to read more about Sigona’s Moo-Na Lisa cheese!
Bartlett Pear and Dried Cranberry Salad with Moo-Na Lisa Cheese and a Honey-Rosemary Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the vinaigrette:
- 3 Tbsp. Sigona’s cranberry-pear white balsamic
- 1 to 2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary more or less to taste
- 1/4 cup honey such as local Honey Hole Honey Co. honey, available at Sigona’s
- 6 Tbsp. Sigona’s Fresh Press extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the salad:
- 8 cups fresh greens such as spring mix, butter or red leaf lettuce
- 2 fresh Bartlett pears halved, cored and thinly sliced lengthwise
- 4 to 6 oz. Moo-na Lisa cheese cut into julienned strips about 2 inches long by 1/4 inch wide Moo-na Lisa is a Gouda-Gruyère style cheese made exclusively for Sigona’s
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup Sigona’s dried cranberries or golden raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped nuts such as walnuts, pistachios or pecans (try Sigona’s candied nuts for more flavor)
Instructions
- Prepare the vinaigrette by whisking together the balsamic, rosemary and honey. While whisking, drizzle in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Taste the vinaigrette; season if necessary with more rosemary, salt or pepper.
- In a large bowl, toss the greens with about half the vinaigrette. Divide the greens evenly among 4 to 6 salad plates.
- Toss the pears, cheese and cranberries or raisins with about 2 tablespoons of the remaining vinaigrette; top each salad with some of the pear mixture. Drizzle on any remaining vinaigrette or serve on the side. Enjoy immediately.
