Pear and Pomegranate Salad with Toasted Walnuts
The bright, cool counter to a week of comfort. Sweet pear, tart pomegranate, toasted walnut, peppery arugula, a maple-dijon dressing. Fifteen minutes, no stove, and it looks like fall on a plate.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Serves
- 4
- Method
- No-Cook
Toast the walnuts for depth, and slice the pears at the last minute so they don't brown. A quick toss in the lemony dressing keeps them bright - a fall salad lives and dies on ripe fruit that still looks fresh on the plate.
What actually matters here
- Ripe pears, sliced late.
- Toast the walnuts.
- Dress it right before serving so the arugula stays crisp.
Ingredients
Serves 4.
Salad
- 5 cupsarugula
- 2heads red endive, leaves separated
- 2ripe pears
- 1/2 cuppomegranate arils
Crunch
- 1/2 cupwalnuts, toasted
Dressing
- maple
- dijon
- cider vinegar
- olive oil
- shallot
Before you start
- Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium, 3 to 4 minutes, shaking often, until fragrant and lightly browned, then tip out to cool. Seed the pomegranate the clean way: cut it in half around the middle, hold a half cut-side down over a bowl, and whack the skin firmly with a wooden spoon so the seeds drop out (do it over a bowl of water for zero splatter). Mince a small shallot.
Method
- Whisk the vinaigrette: about 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp cider vinegar, 1 tsp maple, 1 tsp dijon, the minced shallot, and salt and pepper, until smooth and emulsified.
- Separate the red endive into individual leaves, or cut into wide ribbons. Slice the pears thin right around the core, and do it just before serving so they don't brown.
- In a big bowl, combine the arugula, endive, sliced pear, and most of the pomegranate. Drizzle over just enough dressing to lightly coat and toss gently with your hands so you don't bruise the pears. Dress it right before serving so the greens stay crisp.
- Pile onto plates or a platter, scatter the toasted walnuts and the rest of the pomegranate over the top, and finish with a little flaky salt.
How you know it is right
- Everything is lightly dressed and still crisp, the pear bright, the pomegranate and walnuts scattered throughout.
How to serve it
Crusty bread or white beans to make it a meal.
If you want it simpler
- Pre-seeded pomegranate; pre-toasted walnuts; any crisp lettuce.
Ripe pears sliced late, toasted walnuts, dressed bright. Fall on a plate.
This dish came from the SEASON plan for September 14 - 20, 2026, alongside nine other dinners and one shopping list.
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Written and tested by Chef Michael Rossi, who has spent thirty years in professional kitchens including Napa Rose, THE RANCH, The Masters at Augusta National, and The Beach Club. Every SEASON recipe is one he has cooked on a real line before it reaches a home kitchen.