A satisfying and simple pear and rocket salad. Made with sweet juicy pears, peppery rocket, creamy ripe avocado, salty olives, crunchy sunflower and pumpkin seeds and more.
It’s a beautiful mix of sweet and savoury with plenty of texture and flavour.
This is one of my favourite fall and winter salads!
Have you ever stopped eating salads because of the colder weather? I used to do this, but not anymore becasue I miss all that lovely raw freshness too much.
Well, I think good salad makes a refreshing change from the heavier fall and winter meals this time of year. Especially after Christmas and New Year. Do you agree?
This pear and rocket salad is filled with vibrant raw foods including raw quinoa sprouts, to make it more satisfying. Using cooked quinoa instead works just as well.
However, you’re curious at all about sprouting, definitely check out my blog post on sprouting quinoa. I think you'll love it!
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Why you’ll love this salad
It’s filled with wholefood nutritional goodness and is:
- dairy-free
- gluten-free
- nut-free and
- refined sugar-free
Ingredients
This pear rocket salad is full of textures and flavours like sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy, sour and features the following ingredients:
- Fresh quinoa sprouts, but use cooked, if preferred.
- Pears for their sweetness - blush / slightly pink pears are my favourites
- Rocket ( also known as arugula) - fresh and peppery.
- Avocado - their creaminess perfectly complements this salad
- Olives - will add a little saltiness and colour, I love Greek Kalamata olives
- Red onion - for a touch of sourness and their vibrant purple colour
- Baby cucumbers - for their freshness, or use regular cucumber instead
- Fresh herbs and microgreens to add more flavour and texture
- Mixed seeds - my go-to faves are sunflower and pumpkin seeds and these add a wonderful light crunch to this salad
Pear and rocket salad dressing ingredients
A simple 2-minute apple cider vinaigrette will dress this dish beautifully. I used:
- extra virgin olive oil
- apple cider vinegar - I use raw apple cider vinegar with the mother
- maple syrup - may be substituted with date paste
- dijon mustard - use mustard powder or whole grain if preferred
- pinch of fresh thyme leaves - use dried if that's what you have
- salt and freshly ground pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Recipe steps
Step 1 - Firstly, chop and prepare the rocket pear salad vegetable ingredients then mix.
Step 2 - Add this to your salad bowl and top with rocket leaves, thinly sliced ripe pear and a handful of microgreens.
Step 3 - Mix up the apple cider vinaigrette and serve with the salad.
To make in advance, store the quinoa and vinaigrette separate to the salad. Pour over the dressing to serve. This will prevent the rocket and pear salad becoming soggy.
You'll also need to squeeze a little lemon juice over the avocado before mixing it into the salad, to prevent it turning brown.
Do you want to start sprouting? I think you'll love the other articles in my sprouting series:
Variations
It’s traditional to include cheese with a typical pear arugula salad. If that's something you enjoy, try sprinkling my 5 minute vegan parmesan over the top.
Alternatively, you could make this gorgeous macadamia nut cheese recipe. Then slice some of it into small pieces and add those to the salad just before serving.
Want to add nuts? Add in walnuts, pine nuts or try hazelnuts for something a bit different.
Leafy greens - If you don't like rocket you can use any other leafy greens. For a bigger, bolder flavour a mix of rocket and kale work well. You can also try adding some fennel and chicory.
For a lighter spring or summer version consider a mix of baby leaves.
Storage
This gorgeous winter salad will store well in the fridge for 1-2 days if you’re using freshly sprouted quinoa. Up to 4 days if you’re using cooked quinoa.
Be sure to pop it into a suitable container with a lid. The dressing will keep for up to 5 days in a lidded jar, if refrigerated.
FAQ
Yes. Rocket itself is a fantastically healthy leafy green filled with nutrients including vitamins C, K, magnesium, folate and beta carotene.
Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over pear slices or dip them in lemon juice to stop them from browning.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Pear and Rocket Salad
Ingredients
for the salad
- 2 large handfuls rocket leaves (arugula)
- 8 heaped tbsp (½ cup) freshly sprouted quinoa use cooked, if preferred
- 1 ripe pear
- 1 avocado
- 1 baby cucumber medium sized
- ¼ of small red onion
- 1 handful kalamata olives
- 1 handful microgreens or cress
- 2 tablespoon sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
dressing ingredients
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or date paste
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- fresh thyme leaves a couple of sprigs
- a good pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
Pear and rocket salad
- Using a paring knife, finely slice the red onion, peel and dice the avocado then, chop the cucumber into bite size pieces.
- Add the quinoa to a bowl then top with the chopped vegetables, olives and mixed seeds. Stir gently to mix then divide into two bowls.
- Cut the pear into four, remove the core and slice each of the four pieces thinly.
- To each bowl now add a handful of rocket, pear slices and sprinkle liberally with microgreens.
Apple cider vinaigrette
- Remove the leaves from the sprig of thyme. Add all the dressing ingredients to a small jar. Secure tightly with a lid and shake until the ingredients have emulsified.
- Serve the salad with vinaigrette on the side for drizzling as you wish.
Notes
Food safety
The UK Food Standards Agency recommends people in vulnerable groups always cook any sprouts until steaming hot all the way through before eating them.
This is because sprouts sometimes contain bacteria, which some people may be susceptible to. Vulnerable groups include the elderly, young children, those with a weakened immune system, and pregnant women.
Never eat sprouts or microgreens that look or smell bad or weird. If you're unsure, then throw them out and start again.
Check the FSA website for more details.
Gil Young says
Really lovely salad with good combination of ingredients. Used cress and a packet of precooked used pre-cooked quinoa otherwise as per the recipe. Doubled quantity and fed four adults all of which enjoyed the meal.
We are not vegetarian but will look to make more salads in winter as they are quick and save fuel.
Juliette says
So happy that you all enjoyed it! Thanks for your comment.🙂