Crunchy Pear & Celery Salad

Crisp pears are tossed with Cheddar cheese and pecans in this delicious salad. For an Italian twist, try a good Parmesan with some toasted pine nuts or to go British use crumbled Stilton and toasted walnuts.

Yield: 6 servings
Total Time: 25 minutes
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Make Ahead Tip: Prepare salad without pecans up to 2 hours ahead. Stir in pecans just before serving.

Recipe Ingredients:
4 stalks celery, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons cider, pear, raspberry or other fruit vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ripe pears, preferably red Bartlett or Anjou, diced
1 cup finely diced white Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (see Tip)
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 large leaves butter head or other lettuce

Soak celery in a bowl of ice water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Cut into 1/2inch pieces.

Whisk vinegar, honey and salt in a large bowl until blended.
Add pears; gently stir to coat. Add the celery, cheese and pecans; stir to combine. Season with pepper. Divide the lettuce leaves among 6 plates and top with a portion of salad. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Tip:
To toast chopped pecans, cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Recipe Nutrition:
Per serving: 221 calories; 14 g fat (5 g saturated fat, 4 g mono unsaturated fat); 20 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrates; 6 g protein; 4 g fiber; 240 mg sodium; 221 mg potassium
Nutrition Bonus: Calcium (15% daily value)

Scaling Disclaimer:
EatingWell recipes are tested extensively in the EatingWell Test Kitchen. Eating Well cannot guarantee a recipe that has been scaled to make a different number of servings from the original. Also note that scaling only applies to the ingredient measurements: no adjustment is made to the recipe instructions, so pan sizes and cooking times and ingredient amounts referred to in the text of the recipe only apply to the original number of servings.

Gluten-Free Disclaimer:
We have verified that these recipes do not include the following gluten-containing ingredients: wheat (all varieties, including spelt and kamut, wheat germ or bran and other forms of wheat protein), rye, barley (in all forms, including malt, malt flavoring, malt vinegar and malt extract), oats, triticale or beer/ale. However, many processed foods, such as broths, soy sauce and other condiments, may contain hidden sources of gluten. If a recipe calls for a packaged (e.g., canned) ingredient, we recommend that you carefully read the label to be sure it does not contain a hidden source of gluten.