Blue Cheese Salad Recipe with Saint Géric Blue Cheese
When is the last time you enjoyed really good cheese at home? As often happens in my family, our best cheese plates are tasted in pricey restaurants where we receive just about enough to spread on one slice of baguette each, leaving us longing for more.
Recently though, everything changed, even if only for a day. I had the opportunity to try some of the best cheese I’ve ever eaten. Let’s stop right there and really think about that because I’ve unabashedly eaten a lot of cheese.
If you have been fortunate enough in your life to travel to France, you have surely indulged in some authentic barnyard cheeses with their unparalleled creaminess and tang—often to the point of being pungent, even. The cheese I sampled was a soft bleu from our friends at Saint Géric, and it left me longing for more, so I decided to make a blue cheese salad recipe from it.
The Fromagerie Guilloteau—makers of Saint Géric—share this description, and I couldn’t agree more:
“Saint Géric is a wonderful alternative to the pungent blue cheeses we all know so well. It’s the perfect marriage of a triple crème and blue cheese – rich and creamy with a subtle blue flavor that lingers on the palate and slowly melts in your mouth. Made in Pelussin in the Rhone Alpes region, this sublime square-shaped cheese is filled with buttery goodness and streaked with ethereal veins of blue.”
The consumer “test” I like to give a good cheese is two-fold. First, I like to determine if it can stand on its own, with, say, only a piece of grilled bread and some grapes. Second, I like to use it in a blue cheese salad recipe to see if its flavor is still strong, keeping it at center-stage. Not only did Saint Géric pass the test, it exceeded my expectations. To boot, the cheese I sampled was visually pleasing and makes a stunning contribution to an elegant cheese platter—marbled, velvety and perfectly aged.
As a nod to shedding unwanted winter pounds while continuing to enjoy some of the finer things in life, I chose to use this cheese in a poached pear salad with a Tupelo-honey balsamic vinaigrette. It was simple, healthy, beautiful, and absolutely delectable. I’d like to share that recipe with you here.
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Now, it’s your turn. Run, don’t walk, to your computer to place an order, or check out one of their local sellers, including Wegmans and Whole Foods. Saint Géric is a cheese for the serious cheese lovers out there, and it is so worth debuting at your next get-together.
Blue Cheese Salad Recipe – Poached Pear Salad with a Tupelo-Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
The Salad
2 cups arugula
2 cups baby romaine lettuce
½ cup slivered, toasted almonds
½ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup dried cranberries
2 pears, poached, sliced cool
1 small red onion, sliced
½ cup shredded raw beets
½ cup shredded carrots
¼ cup crumbled ricotta salata cheese
4 oz. Saint Géric bleu cheese, cut into small pieces
(plus 4 oz. Saint Géric bleu cheese, for serving with salad and bread)
The Vinaigrette
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. minced garlic
6 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 cup good olive oil (I use Olea from Olea Estates)
3 tbs. Tupelo honey (or any good quality honey)
sea salt and ground black pepper
Directions:
The Vinaigrette
In a mixing bowl, combine 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. black pepper, garlic, mustard, honey, and vinegar. Whisking constantly, add the olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.
Add the arugula, romaine, onions, and beets to the vinaigrette and toss to coat thoroughly.
Use salad tongs to place on a platter, then sprinkle with remaining ingredients. Serve immediately with a crusty French baguette or a pain de compagne, a side of Saint Géric for spreading, and a glass of your favorite sparkling wine.