BLUE CHEESE, WALNUT, AND CHICORY SALAD

Blue Cheese, Walnut, and Chicory Salad image

If you've been looking at endive and radicchio in the stores for years but never bought any because you thought you just wouldn't like it, I'm here to tell you, you probably do--especially in a salad like this. When chicory is combined with a sweet and tangy mustard vinaigrette, mixed with toasted, crunchy nuts, and wonderfully rich, subtly salty blue cheese, it all makes perfect sense.

Provided by Chef John

Time 20m

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup olive oil
1 head radicchio
4 heads Belgian endive
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Steps:

Stir or toss walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat until very hot to the touch and toasted, about 5 minutes.
Mix Dijon mustard, rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and pepper together in a bowl for dressing. Pour in olive oil, about 1 teaspoon at a time, whisking constantly, until thick and coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust as necessary.
Cut radicchio in half; cut out the core using 2 angled cuts. Cut each half in half again and slice across into about 1-inch pieces. Slice root ends off of endive and peel off about 1/3 of the leaves, leaving them whole for presentation. Slice remaining endive into 1/2-inch pieces.
Transfer all radicchio and endive to a bowl and toss, making sure leaves are separated and evenly distributed. Crumble in about 1/2 of the walnuts and 1/2 of the blue cheese. Pour in dressing and toss with your hands until everything is perfectly coated.
Place whole endive spears on a serving plate. Pile salad on top and scatter remaining walnuts and blue cheese on top.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 644.2 calories, Carbohydrate 27.5 g, Cholesterol 21.3 mg, Fat 55.4 g, Fiber 18.3 g, Protein 17.7 g, SaturatedFat 11.1 g, Sodium 710.9 mg, Sugar 4.1 g