Endive Salad with Orange and Walnuts

Light, refreshing salad. These are not exactly the first words you might gravitate towards when thinking of a cold-weather dish to cozy up to. However, we’re approaching peak season for endive and oranges and it just so happens that the two go gloriously well together. Plus, you can’t live on soups and stews alone. 

My all-time favorite endive salad is the one at Estela in New York City. It features a funky anchovy vinaigrette and loads of cheesy, nutty crouton granola. When feeling ambitious, I make this recipe (get their cookbook!), but I rarely have it in me in the dead of winter. Maybe it’s the lack of vitamin D, or maybe it’s because a much simpler version is often just as satisfying. 

Here’s that simpler version, with a light orange vinaigrette, toasted walnuts, Parmesan, and way fewer dishes to clean up.

Endive belongs to the chicory family which also includes radicchio. It has a pronounced bitter flavor and a crisp texture. You can find Belgian endive year-round in most grocery stores. Each head of Belgian endive is small with tightly packed pale yellow leaves.

The bittersweet snap of endive goes with bright, citrusy or sweet foods, and on the opposite of the spectrum, funky robust flavors. Some good counterparts are as follows:

• Anchovies
• Smoked salmon
• Apples
• Pears
• Hard cheeses
• Blue cheese
• Charcuterie

The best way to avoid bitter endive is to buy the right endive in the first place. When shopping for Belgian endive, look for leaves with a yellow rather than a green tip, but the whiter the better. Smart grocers will wrap their endives in paper to protect them from the light, which turns them green and bitter. If it’s too late and the endive on your plate is making your mouth squirm, tame the bitterness by adding more acid and more salt to the dressing.