This is one of my forever favorite salads. I know that sounds a bit corny, but it’s accurate. I think most people consider this a winter salad because that’s typically when you find endive and pears in abundance, but depending on where you live, you can get these ingredients year-round.
I love this salad because it’s bursting with flavor, full of prebiotics (which feed the good bacteria, probiotics, in your gut), and it reminds me of many a meal eaten in France–being the hopeless romantic I am. I also appreciate that this salad works as well served alongside grilled or roasted meats as it does served with a rich-tasting, creamy-textured soup, such as butternut squash or cauliflower.
This salad looks prettiest if you tear your radicchio leaves and leave the endive leaves whole. It also looks best with the pear thinly sliced. However, it also makes for more challenging eating, so the salad is captured here with everything chopped into very manageable bites.
But let’s get on with it.
Ingredients for 4 servings
2 heads endive, trimmed, leaves separated and cleaned
1 bunch/small head radicchio
1 large pear (use Bartlett, Comice, D’anjou)
1/3 cup crumbly Gorgonzola cheese
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp champagne vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp honey, optional
Sea salt
Fresh-ground pepper
Preparation
Slice or tear the radicchio leaves and put in a large bowl. Slice the endive leaves or toss whole into the bowl. Core the pear and slice very thin or cut into chunks.
In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey (if using, and about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Adjust to taste. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat evenly. Crumble the cheese over, toss lightly again and serve immediately.
Eat Well, Be Well, Live Well 