Endive Salad with Pear, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts
Crisp Belgian endive with thin slices of ripe pear, toasted walnuts, and blue cheese, tossed in a Dijon and cider vinaigrette with chives.
Why you'll love Endive Salad with Pear, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts
Endive, pear, blue cheese, and walnuts is a classic of the French bistro, and every part does a job. The endive is crisp and gently bitter, the pear is sweet and juicy, the blue cheese is creamy and sharp, and the toasted walnuts add crunch and a warm, toasty finish. Endive and pears are both at their best in late fall, when this salad makes a bright counterpoint to a heavier holiday plate.
The balance is the technique. Bitterness, sweetness, salt, and fat all meet in each forkful, so nothing tastes flat. The vinaigrette is made with apple cider vinegar, which picks up the fruit, and a spoon of Dijon, which holds the oil and vinegar together so the dressing clings to the smooth endive leaves. Toasting the walnuts in a dry skillet takes four minutes and deepens their flavor and crunch.
Serve it beside roast hens, pot roast, or a seared steak, or add sliced roast turkey or chicken and make it lunch.
Quick overview: This Endive Salad with Pear, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts takes 15 min of hands-on time and about 20 min in all and makes 4 servings, each about 1 1/2 cups. You'll need a skillet.
Ingredients
- 4 heads Belgian endive (about 1 lb)
- 1 large ripe but firm Bosc or red Anjou pear, skin on
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup walnut halves
- 3 oz blue cheese, such as Gorgonzola, Roquefort, or a domestic blue, cut from a wedge and crumbled Label: pasteurized milk, salt, cultures, enzymes, and Penicillium roqueforti, with no powdered cellulose or natamycin
- 1 small shallot, finely minced
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard Label: mustard seed, vinegar, water, and salt
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp finely chopped chives
Instructions
- Toast the walnuts: Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan often, for 4 to 5 minutes, until they smell toasty and darken a shade. Tip them onto a plate so the hot pan does not keep cooking them, let them cool, and break them into large pieces.
- Make the vinaigrette: Stir the shallot into the vinegar with the salt in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. The vinegar softens the shallot's raw bite. Whisk in the Dijon, then slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing turns thick and glossy. The mustard is what holds the oil and vinegar together.
- Prepare the endive: Trim a thin slice from the base of each endive and pull off any bruised outer leaves. Separate the larger outer leaves whole and cut the tight inner cores crosswise into 1-inch pieces.
- Slice the pear: Quarter and core the pear and cut it into thin slices. Toss the slices with the lemon juice, which keeps the cut surfaces from browning.
- Toss and serve: Toss the endive with most of the vinaigrette in a large bowl until every leaf is lightly coated. Arrange it on a platter, tuck in the pear slices, and scatter the blue cheese and walnuts over the top. Drizzle with the rest of the dressing, finish with the chives and a few grinds of pepper, and serve right away.
Storage and leftovers
Dressed endive softens within an hour, so toss only what you will eat. Undressed endive keeps wrapped in a damp paper towel in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
The vinaigrette keeps in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; shake it well before using. Toasted walnuts keep in a sealed jar at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Variations
- Apple: Use a crisp, tart apple, skin on, in place of the pear.
- Pecans: Use toasted pecans in place of the walnuts.
- Goat cheese: Use crumbled fresh goat cheese for a milder, tangier salad.
- Radicchio: Swap one head of endive for a small head of radicchio, torn, for color and a sharper bite.
Notes and tips
- Choose tight, pale heads: The best endive is tightly closed and creamy white with yellow tips. Green tips mean the heads have seen light and taste more bitter.
- Buy blue cheese by the wedge: Pre-crumbled blue cheese is coated with an anti-caking agent. A wedge with a label of milk, salt, cultures, enzymes, and the blue mold crumbles easily with a fork.
- Slice the pear last: Cut the pear just before serving so it stays crisp and pale.
- Chill the cheese: Cold blue cheese crumbles cleanly; warm cheese smears.
Nutrition and mindful eating
- Endive is crisp and gently bitter, with fiber, folate, and vitamin K, and its bitterness makes the sweet pear and rich cheese taste even fuller.
- The pear keeps its skin and arrives with walnuts, olive oil, and cheese, so its natural sweetness comes with plenty of fat and some protein.
- Walnuts bring plant omega-3 fats and crunch, and the olive oil in the dressing is the real fat that helps carry the flavors.
- Blue cheese is strong, so a little seasons the whole salad and gives it a savory, creamy finish.
- As you eat, notice how the bitter, sweet, salty, and rich flavors trade places from bite to bite, and pay attention to how satisfying a salad can be when every bite has fat and crunch.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this Endive Salad with Pear, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts? Start here, with the questions people ask most.
Which blue cheese is best?
Gorgonzola dolce is mild and creamy, Roquefort is sharp and salty, and a domestic blue falls in between. Choose by how strong you like it.
Can I make it ahead?
Make the vinaigrette, toast the walnuts, and crumble the cheese up to a day ahead. Cut the endive and pear and toss just before serving.
Is endive the same as escarole?
They are close relatives. Belgian endive grows in tight, pale spears, while escarole is a leafy green head. This salad uses Belgian endive for its crisp leaves.
Can I make it a main dish?
Yes. Top it with sliced roast turkey, chicken, or seared steak to make it lunch.
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