Posted on: Wednesday, March 23, 2005

RECIPE DOCTOR
Simple spring salad gets a makeover

By Elaine Magee

Q. I found this fancy salad recipe (for pear roquefort salad) on a recipe Web site, and I want to serve it at some Sunday suppers this spring. Can you give it a makeover for me?

A. Pear roquefort salad sounds good to me too! But the calories per serving for the original recipe are a whopping 434 with 31 grams of fat! Lucky for us there are quite a few places where we can give it a nip and tuck.

The original recipe called for leaf lettuce, and we're going to pump up the nutrition by using baby spinach leaves (available ready to use in bags). To cut back fat, we'll use 3 ounces of blue cheese instead of 5, and we'll lighten up the dressing and save time by using ý cup of lower-fat and calorie, bottled raspberry vinaigrette.

And we are going to make this even easier to assemble by using packaged glazed pecans instead of caramelizing the pecans ourselves. All we really have to do is slice the green onions and chop the pears and avocado. This salad is easy, colorful, delicious and loaded with nutrients.

The original recipe contains 434 calories, 31 grams of fat, 7.5 grams saturated fat, and 18 mg cholesterol per serving.

5-MINUTE PEAR ROQUEFORT SPINACH SALAD WITH GLAZED PECANS

• 10 cups baby spinach leaves
• 4 pears, cored and chopped
• 3 ounces crumbled roquefort cheese
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup (about 2.5 ounces) glazed pecans (such as Emerald brand's Pecan Pie Pecans)
• 8 tablespoons bottled raspberry vinaigrette with around 5 grams of fat for 2 tablespoons (such as Wish Bone Restaurant Style Raspberry Hazelnut Vinaigrette)

Elaine Magee's new book is "Fry Light, Fry Right" is now in bookstores. Reach her at www.recipedoctor.com. Personal responses cannot be provided. This column is distributed by the Knight Ridder News Service.