Escarole Walnut Salad
Serves 6
If you’ve never worked with escarole, give this versatile green a go. When I was growing up, I was used to eating it chopped up in a soup, quickly wilted with lemon juice, or tossed into a salad. Though you can find escarole in most grocery stores, many people don’t take advantage of it, perhaps because of its slight bitterness (which dissipates when cooked). In this recipe, toasted walnuts, homemade walnut oil, red wine vinegar, and shavings of Pecorino nicely balance escarole’s healthful, raw intensity.
INGREDIENTS
The Walnut Dressing
- 2 cups walnuts
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 head escarole, chopped
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, shaved
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread 1 cup of the walnuts over a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the nuts once during roasting. Cool to room temperature and coarsely chop.
- Finely chop the remaining 1 cup walnuts and place in a small saucepan with the olive oil and garlic. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. When cool, strain the oil into a medium bowl and discard the nuts and garlic. Whisk in the vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- Spread the escarole over a large platter. Sprinkle the toasted walnuts and onions over the escarole and drizzle with the dressing. Top with the shaved Pecorino Romano and serve immediately.
PANTRY
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