Endive Salad with Roasted Pears, Walnuts and Gorgonzola
Why I Love This Recipe
My friends and I made this recipe at the most recent "supper club" get together we had. It was inspired but a recipe I saw on Epicurious but I adapeted and altered it to suit our tastes. It makes a refreshing summer salad served cold or a lovely autumn dish if you serve the pears and walnuts warm out of the oven. Enjoy!
Ingredients You'll Need
1 shallot
1 whole star anise
2/3 cup vegetable oil
6 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons white wine
Salad
3 firm-ripe Bosc pears
8 Belgian endives
½ cup walnut halves or pieces
7 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups)
Garnish: chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions
Chop shallot and crush star anise. In a blender blend shallot, oil, orange juice, and vinegar and wine until emulsified. Transfer mixture to a small bowl or jar and add star anise and salt and pepper to taste. Chill dressing, covered, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day. Pour dressing through a sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Whisk dressing until combined well.
Make salad:
Preheat oven to 400°F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Halve and core pears. Cut pears lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and arrange in one layer on baking sheet. Roast pears in middle of oven about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the walnuts over the pears and roast another 5 minutes, until pears are pale golden, and cool on baking sheet.
Presentation:
Rinse endives, cut in half lengthwise and then in half lengthwise again (quarters).
On a salad plate arrange 4 endive spears, top with pears and walnuts and sprinkle gorgonzola over the
