An endive salad tossed with toasted walnuts, creamy goat cheese makes this a light and flavorful salad. The sweetness of the champagne vinaigrette and apples are perfectly balanced for the slight bitterness of the endive.
The very first time I saw a Belgian endive I thought they were very cool looking. Not knowing what they were I ate it raw. While it was a little bitter I figured it would be great in a salad. The next time I went out to dinner with friends there was an endive salad. I ordered it and loved it. This salad became a take on that very recipe.
In this recipe
There are only 6 ingredients for this salad, making this a salad that is east to put together and doesn’t take a lot of time.
Goat Cheese: This creamy cheese will add a bit of sharpness to the dish which goes well with the bitter endive.
Apple: You will want to choose a crisp and sweet apple such as a Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Pink Lady, and Cosmic.
Arugula/Rocket: This is a slightly bitter green as well. Then can be substituted with butter lettuce or other mixed salad greens.
Walnuts: To bring out their best flavor for this recipe they will need to be lightly toasted. This can be done in the oven or on the stove.
What is endive?
Endive is a a form of chicory that can be prepared many different ways. Chicory has been used in salad greens. A chicory plant that most people are familiar with is the cornflower. Endives like most chicory have a slight bitter taste. Belgian endives are pale and firm with the edges of the leaves turning a pale yellow to green in color. They can be sautéed, roasted, boiled, and even served raw.
Preparing the ingredients
When making this salad you only need to cut the endive into quarters however if you would like to just use the leaves you can pull them from the stalks like you would lettuce or cabbage and use it in the same manner for this recipe. For the apples I prefer to make them matchsticks however the size is up to you. You can also use an apple corer and then slice the wedges thinly. It is easier to toast whole or halved walnuts and then chop them afterwards. Toasting chopped ones might cause some of the smaller pieces to burn.
Endive salad assembly
If you want to make sure the salad is evenly dressed then toss the greens in the dressing before adding the rest of the toppings. That way the apples will not break and the goat cheese will not become a creamy coating on the salad. A trick I use to keep the goat cheese firm is to toss it in the freezer 15 minutes before I am going to assemble the salad. Then once I take it out it is firm enough to handle and maintain its shape. Then all you need to do is alternate the layer of the ingredients. This will also prevent you from having to toss the salad afterwards.
Looking for other salad recipes?
Apple and Walnut Endive Salad
Equipment
- Sheet pan
- Serving bowl/platter
Ingredients
- ¼ cup walnuts coarsely chopped
- 4 endive
- 1 apple
- 1½ cup arugula
- 1½ ounces goat cheese crumbled
- ½ cup champagne vinaigrette
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, 177°C or gas mark 4.
- On a sheet pan place the walnuts and toast for 3-5 minutes or until the walnuts are fragrant and start to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Pull the outermost 2 leaves from the endive heads, cut them into quarters, rinse and dry. Then set aside.
- Slice the apples thinly removing the core. You can leave in larger pieces but I prefer matchstick sized slices.
- In a bowl or platter layer the endive, arugula, walnuts, apple slices and goat cheese.
- Top with the champagne vinaigrette and serve immediately.
Nutrition
