Each new day delivers a fresh batch of golden, crimson, and canary yellow leaves - some cling to branches, others carpet our lawn and driveway. Neighbors with little ones have already decorated their porches with cheery pumpkins and spooky faux spider webs. Wecome, Autumn.
Living in Washington for 15 years gave me an exaggerated anticipation for Autumn. Autumn = Apples: crisp, juicy, sweet, glorious apples.
The White Winter Salad from the Palace Kitchen in Seattle is the inspiration for this salad (their recipe is available in Tom Douglas' excellent cookbook Seattle Kitchen). Their salad is a bit different, without apple and with a garlic vinaigrette. But it's the kind of salad that is open to endless interpretation. It's worth the splurge to buy quality Parmesan cheese for this, either Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano. And if you're looking to make it a meal, Tomato Bisque pairs perfectly.
Cutting the fennel and apple into julienne is important for visual appeal and crunch. I came across this video on YouTube - it's well worth your :53 seconds to see a the julienne technique in action. Once you have the technique down, the salad comes together in minutes.
Fennel, Apple, & Endive Salad w/ Parmigiano-Reggiano
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil or nut oil such as hazelnut or walnut
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the salad:
- 2 heads Belgian endive halved lengthwise, cored, and sliced crosswise into ½" strips
- 1 large apple cored and julienned (see video above)
- 1 fennel bulb cored and julienned
- ½ cup or more shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk the vinegar and honey together in the bottom of a salad bowl. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Add endive strips and julienne slices of apple and fennel to dressing in salad bowl. Toss to combine and coat with dressing.
- Divide salad between 4 salad plates and top with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve.
What I like about this salad is that you can change the ingredients if you have run out of something or if you have an excess of something too! 😀
Wow! You have so much "fantasia" in all your salad, i love the idea of a salad with apples inside
Fantasia? You crack me up, Giovanna. 🙂
What a beautiful fall salad! I love the sweet and bitter mix of apple and endive.
Thanks Eileen - Belgian endive added a subtly bitter (in a good way) flavor and honestly the other flavors are strong enough to stand up to something like radicchio or curly endive.
This salad has every component that I love in a salad--crunch, a bit of sweetness, a bit of saltiness, great flavors. It looks wonderful.
Thanks. I completely agree about the components of a great salad!