Fennel

Chicory and Fennel Salad with Blue Cheese and Pears

by:
January 26, 2010
3.7
3 Ratings
Chicory and Fennel Salad with Blue Cheese and Pears
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

I eat a lot of endive, watercress and blue cheese salads but sometimes I find myself craving an alternative. I'm a big fan of Stilton Cheese and I love the way chicory holds salad dressing. —sweet enough

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 head chicory, washed and dried with tough outer leaves removed
  • one bulb fennel, tough outer section removed, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1 head radicchio, washed and cut into a mediem shred
  • 2 ripe but firm pears, like bartlett or anjou
  • 3/4 cup crumbled stilton (or blue) cheese
  • 3/4 cup toasted pecans, broken into pieces
  • juice of one blood orange
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olilve oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 1 small shallot, finely minced
  • coarse salt and pepper to taste
Directions
  1. tear the chicory into bite size pieces and place in a large salad bowl with the fennel and radicchio
  2. place the mustard, orange juice, shallot, and vinegar in a jar or mixing bowl and whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream. mix in salt and pepper and pour over the salad, reserving a little bit to pour over the top of the salad. gently toss the salad.
  3. peel, core, and thinly slice the pears. spread out over the top of the salad. sprinkle on the cheese and nuts and spoon on the leftover dressing.
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6 Reviews

Jennifer A.
Jennifer A. January 26, 2010
I had never considered a salad of chicory - it sounds wonderful. I will definitely try to seek it out.
 
sweet E.
sweet E. January 29, 2010
thank you --- I hope you like it. It has a wonderful flavor.
 
lastnightsdinner
lastnightsdinner January 26, 2010
I love fennel but I never thought to add it to a salad of bitter greens - nice!
 
sweet E.
sweet E. January 29, 2010
thanks. I eat fennel all the time with arugula but the bitterness of the chicory really brings out the fennel's sweet side.
 
TasteFood
TasteFood January 26, 2010
This sounds like a lovely winter salad. I like the addition of the blood orange juice to the dressing.
 
sweet E.
sweet E. January 29, 2010
I came up with the blood orange by chance --- someone in my family had bought a few of them the day before and they were just sitting on the counter when I was making the salad.