Spring Greens And Fruits Salad

Fresh spring greens with pears, oranges, berries, toasted nuts and blue cheese with a lightened raspberry vinaigrette. Serves 4 - Easy

4 cups mixed Spring Greens, washed and spun dry
1 red pear, sliced
1 navel orange, segmented, juice reserved
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 scallion, finely slivered on a bias
1/2 pint blackberries
1/2 cup toasted almonds or walnuts
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 TBS Raspberry vinaigrette
4 jumbo ripe strawberries
four 1 TBS sized chunks of Stilton or Gorgonzola (optional)

Wash veggies and fruit. Core and thinly slice the pear, reserving 12 nice slices, cut the remaining pear slices into 1-inch pieces. Skin the orange removing all the white pith and remove segments of orange, squeeze the remainder and reserve juice. Cut carrot into matchsticks.

Toast nuts in a skillet or on a sheet pan in the oven, remove to a cutting board and immediately sprinkle and toss with sea salt.

Combine reserved orange juice with the raspberry vinaigrette (optional, keeps the dressing calories down) in a salad bowl. Add greens, chopped pear pieces, orange, carrots and scallions and toss to mix and coat evenly with a light layer of dressing. Mound on serving plates.

Garnish each plate with pear slice fans, blackberries, toasted nuts, a jumbo strawberry and a small chunk of blue cheese (optional) and serve with a rustic loaf.

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