Chicory, Pear and Walnut Salad with a Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing

This nourishing salad is but a vehicle to get the rich, creamy vegan blue cheese dressing into your mouth...

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Chicory, Pear and Walnut Salad with a Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing

This rich and wholesome salad, drenched in creamy vegan blue cheese dressing, makes the perfect lunch on a chilly day.

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Pear, walnut and blue cheese is a classic salad combination and it really comes together in this flavourful recipe.

Grilling the pears really helps to bring out their sweetness, which balances beautifully against the earthy walnuts and tangy blue cheese dressing.

The subtle bittersweet notes of the maple roasted celeriac bring the dish together with a flavour that’s wonderfully comforting for the colder months.

But the rich and creamy vegan blue cheese dressing is the real star of this show.

You’ll want to make extra because this dressing tastes amazing on all sorts of salads, burgers and sandwiches and makes a great dip for crudités and Buffalo cauliflower wings.

Recipe tips

Using the right type of tofu is essential for the vegan blue cheese dressing. A super smooth silken tofu is necessary to make sure the base of your sauce is rich and creamy with no grainy texture.

It’s equally important to use extra firm tofu to add crumbles to your sauce. This emulates the satisfying, chunky texture of traditional blue cheese dressing.

To avoid adding extra unwanted moisture to your sauce, press the firm tofu for at least 10 minutes before you crumble it.

Total Time: 35 minutes

Calories: 420

Servings: 4

Rating:  

Nutritional information per serving:

Serving size
439g

calories
420

fat
23g

saturates
2.6g

carbs
49g

sugars
27g

fibre
13g

protein
12g

salt
0.3g

Total Time: 35 minutes

Calories: 420

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Method

Ingredients

(Servings: 4)

  • For the salad
  • 0.125 0.125 celeriac, chopped
  • 0.25 0.25 tbsp maple syrup
  • 0.25 0.25 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1 pears, each cut into 8 wedges
  • 0.5 0.5 heads chicory, separated into leaves
  • 25 25 g walnuts, crumbled
  • 0.25 0.25 fennel, finely sliced
  • 2 2 radishes, finely sliced
  • For the 'blue cheese' dressing
  • 37.5 37.5 g silken tofu
  • 0.25 0.25 garlic clove, peeled
  • 0.125 0.125 tsp onion powder
  • 0.125 0.125 tsp brown rice miso paste
  • 0.25 0.25 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 0.375 0.375 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 0.25 0.25 tsp tahini
  • 0.25 0.25 tsp maple syrup
  • 0.25 0.25 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 0.25 0.25 tbsp water
  • 15 15 g extra firm tofu, crumbled
  • handful chives, chopped

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F/Gas 4. Mix the celeriac, maple syrup and olive oil together on a tray and roast for 20 minutes until golden and soft.
  2. Whilst the celeriac is roasting, to make the dressing add the silken tofu, garlic, onion powder, miso, nutritional yeast, cider vinegar, tahini, maple syrup, Dijon mustard and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Then stir in the extra firm tofu crumbles and chives, and season to taste.
  3. In a hot griddle pan, fry the pear wedges for 4-5 minutes on each side. Share the chicory, pears, walnuts, fennel, radishes and roasted celeriac between four plates and top with the dressing, to serve.

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Written by

Vegan Food & Living

Vegan Food & Living is the UK's only dedicated vegan magazine and website dedicated to celebrating the vegan lifestyle. We keep you up-to-date on all the latest news and events in the world of veganism as they happen, as well as sharing delicious recipes, expert health advice and informative features about all aspects of your vegan lifestyle, from campaigning to vegan fashion.

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