ENDIVE, ORANGE, AND ALMOND SALAD

ENDIVE, ORANGE, AND ALMOND SALAD:

AKA, The Fall Salad We're Making on Repeat .

This past month, my mom and I took a plant-based cooking class at the Culinary Institute in Napa. We made twelve (!!!) different recipes across four teams. One of the standouts of the day was the fall endive, orange and almond salad, which I am certainly going to be making for Thanksgiving this year. See recipe below, and send me a photo if you make it! Bonus points if you can display it as beautifully as they did in class! Pair with our Grenache or Nero d’Avola, and you will be in autumnal heaven.

Fall Endive Orange and Almond Salad

Yield: 18 portions

Ingredients

  • Orange, navel, medium 9 ea.

  • Bread, rustic, artisan 6 ea.

  • Almonds, Marcona, coarsely chopped 1 1⁄2 cup

  • Garlic, clove 6 ea.

  • Anchovy, fillet (Optional) 12 ea.

  • Vinegar, balsamic 3 Tbsp.

  • Lemon, juice, fresh 3 Tbsp.

  • Oil, olive, pure 9 Tbsp.

  • Salt, kosher to taste

  • Pepper, black, ground to taste

  • Cheese, Manchego 9 oz.

  • Endive, large 24 ea.

  • Chive, bunch, cut into 1⁄2-in. lengths 1 1⁄2 ea.

  • Oil, olive, extra virgin 3⁄4 cup

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

  2. Zest 1 tablespoon of rind from 1 of the oranges. Juice the orange. In a small bowl, combine the orange juice and zest Reserve.

  3. Peel the remaining oranges. Slice them very thinly and cut each slice in half to create half-moons. Refrigerate and reserve.

  4. For the croutons, tear the bread into small, uneven croutons. Spread the croutons in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in the preheated oven until golden and crispy. Transfer the croutons to a bowl. Add the almonds and mix to combine. Reserve.

  5. For the dressing, using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic into a paste. Add the anchovies, if using. Pound until they are coarsely broken up.

  6. Add the balsamic and lemon juice. Gradually add the olive oil, pounding and stirring with the pestle. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  7. In a large bowl, place the reserved crouton and almond mixture and the dressing. Toss to combine.

  8. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Manchego into the bowl. Toss lightly.

  9. Peel the leaves from the endives and slice crosswise into halves. Add the endive to the bowl.

  10. Add the chives and reserved orange slices. Drizzle with the reserved orange juice and zest. Add the olive oil. Toss gently.

  11. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Cheers!