This fresh pear and brie salad with blackberry vinaigrette has fresh pear, brie cheese and is a beautiful and colorful salad that is absolutely delish!

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

So while most Thanksgiving side dishes can be heavy, rich and loaded with butter and cream (which I totally love and respect)… maybe add a salad this year. Maybe add this salad!!

Because it’s bright, fresh and beautiful!

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

To Make This Pear and Brie Salad You Will Need:

for the vinaigrette:

  • blackberries
  • white wine vinegar
  • juice and zest of half an orange
  • honey
  • dried thyme
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil

for the salad:

  • mixed baby salad greens
  • pear
  • brie
  • toasted walnuts
  • osher salt

I was inspired by a salad my friend ordered at a restaurant, it was a little different, okay a lot different. But it had blackberries and Brie in it! Oh how I love Brie! So while I was wondering the aisles of my grocery store, I picked up a few of the ingredients, invited my best friend over and made us this salad. We both had two helpings… and marveled in the combination of creamy Brie, fresh pear and blackberries.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

First, make the vinaigrette. Rinse and pat dry 1 cup blackberries.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Next, throw a carton or a cup of blackberries into a food processor.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

And then blitz them until it looks like jelly. Or… never mind.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Next, press them through a mesh strainer to catch those nasty seeds and discard. Now… who sees the heart?

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

You should be left with a smooth blackberry puree.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Next add in 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons honey, pinch of dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and the juice and zest of half an orange zest. Funny thing, when I was zesting the orange and I must have thought it’d be a good idea to rest the orange on my micro-plane and like a sack of bricks it fell into my dressing and sending my micro plane into the air, creating, well something that looks like…

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

A murder scene. True story.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

But I pressed on… and took my anger out on the orange by cutting it in half and squeezing the life out of it. Ahhh… I felt much better.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Whisk all those together.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

This is the tough part. My right arm can attest to it… SLOWLY and I mean S-L-O-W-L-Y stream in 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and whisk the bejesus out of it!!

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Next, set the dressing aside and quarter a couple pears. That’s about a quarter of a pair per person, usually.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Then remove the center core.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Then thinly slice.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Brie. I love brie. Baked, not baked… I don’t care I love it.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Unroll it. Obvi!? Don’t freak about the white edible wax… it’s, ahem… edible.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Them slice into disks. discs? Whichever, you can leave them like this, or break them up and scatter.

I like them whole, but that’s because I have a crazy obsession with brie and the more brie the better!

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

Next, build your salad by layering, spring lettuce, sliced brie, pears and sprinkle the pears with a little kosher salt. Next, top with toasted walnuts.

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

…and then finally drizzle with the blackberry dressing. I could seriously drink this stuff.

Enjoy! And if you give this Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette l SimplyScratch.com

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Yield: 8

Fresh Pear and Brie Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette

This fresh pear and brie salad is drizzled with the most amazing fresh blackberry vinaigrette. It's a beautifully colorful salad that is absolutely delish!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fresh blackberries
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 orange, juice and zest
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 pinch dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more or less to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more or less to taste
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

FOR THE SALAD:

  • 8 ounces mixed salad greens
  • 2 pears, quartered and sliced thin
  • 6 ounces brie
  • 1/3 cup toasted walnuts
  • kosher salt, to taste

Instructions 

  • Puree the blackberries and then strain them through a wire mesh sieve.
  • Combine the berry puree, honey, vinegar, honey, kosher salt, black pepper, orange zest and juice in a bowl and whisk while slowly pouring a steady stream of the olive oil.
  • Taste to check seasonings, adjust if needed and set aside.
  • Divide the greens among plates.
  • Quarter the pears and remove the center core/stem. Slice the pears into thin pieces, arrange on top of the greens and sprinkle with a little kosher salt. Slice Brie and scatter evenly.
  • Drizzle with the blackberry vinaigrette and garnish with the toasted walnuts.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 330kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 21mg, Sodium: 288mg, Potassium: 203mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 518IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 62mg, Iron: 1mg