Winter Greens with Pears, Asiago and Toasted Cashews

By December the garden has gone quiet under a few inches of snow, and the salads I make come from the cellar and the market rather than the beds. This one is built on bitter winter greens, the pale crunch of Belgian endive and the wine-red leaves of radicchio, softened with some tender green leaf lettuce. Over them go thin slices of ripe pear, curls of shaved Asiago and a scatter of toasted cashews, all held together with a small, sharp balsamic dressing sweetened with a spoonful of honey and sharpened with Dijon and green onion.

It is a good salad for the holidays because it holds its own beside rich food. The bitterness and acid cut through roasts and gratins, and it looks festive on a buffet without a single cranberry. Here is how I put it together for four, and how it grows for a holiday table of twenty.

Balancing the greens

Bitter greens need company. A salad of all radicchio is handsome and hard work to eat, so I aim for roughly a third endive, a third radicchio and a third green leaf or butter lettuce. The soft lettuce carries the dressing and gives the mouth a rest between the crunchier leaves.

Cut endive crosswise into inch-wide pieces, or separate the outer leaves whole for a buffet platter, where they look elegant and are easy to pick up. Tear radicchio into bite-size pieces rather than slicing it, which bruises the cut edges. If the radicchio tastes very bitter, soak the torn leaves in ice water for 15 minutes; it softens the bite and crisps them at the same time. Dry all the greens thoroughly. Wet leaves dilute the dressing and make it slide off.

Frisee, escarole hearts and a little watercress are all good substitutes or additions if they look better at the market than the endive.

The dressing, made ahead

The proportions here run richer in oil than a standard vinaigrette, a little more than two parts oil to one part vinegar, because balsamic is already soft and sweet. The honey rounds it, the Dijon holds it together, and finely chopped green onion gives it a mild bite.

Shake it in a jar. It keeps a week in the refrigerator, though the green onion is freshest within two days, so for longer storage add the onion on the day. Let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, since the olive oil firms up when cold, and shake it hard again. Taste it on a leaf of endive, not off a spoon; the bitterness of the greens changes how sweet and sharp it seems.

Keeping the pears from browning

Choose pears that are ripe but not soft: they should give slightly at the neck when pressed with a thumb. Bartlett and Comice are juicy and sweet; Bosc holds its shape best when sliced thin and is my choice for a buffet that will sit out a while.

Cut pears brown quickly. The simplest fix is to slice them last, right before the salad goes out. If you need a head start, there are two reliable ways to hold them for up to an hour or two. Toss the slices gently in a tablespoon of lemon juice mixed with a tablespoon of cold water, or toss them in a spoonful of the dressing itself, whose vinegar does the same job and seasons the fruit. Leave the skins on; they add color and help the slices keep their shape.

Toasting the cashews

Raw cashews are pale and waxy. Toasted, they turn golden and sweet and crunch properly. Spread them on a sheet pan and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 7 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan once, until they are evenly golden and smell nutty. Watch the last two minutes closely. Cool them completely and they will keep in a jar for a week. Toasted pecans or walnuts are good swaps if cashews are not to everyone's taste.

From the recipe box

Winter greens with pears, Asiago and cashews

Serves 4 as a first course

Prep

20 min

Cook

10 min

Total

30 min

Show amounts in

US cups & spoons metric

Dressing

• 5 tbsp75 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp30 ml balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp5 ml honey
• 1 tsp5 ml Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp6 g finely chopped green onion
• 1/4 tsp1.5 g fine salt, plus black pepper to taste

Salad

• 4 cups150 g mixed bitter greens: Belgian endive, radicchio and green leaf lettuce
• 22 ripe but firm pears, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 oz56 g Asiago cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler
• 1/2 cup60 g unsalted cashews

Method

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C), spread the cashews on a sheet pan and toast 7 to 10 minutes, shaking once, until evenly golden; cool completely.
2. Put the oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, green onion, salt and pepper in a jar, close it and shake hard until thick and emulsified.
3. Wash and thoroughly dry the greens, tearing the radicchio and lettuce into bite-size pieces and cutting the endive into 1-inch pieces.
4. Shave the Asiago into wide curls with a vegetable peeler and keep them chilled on a plate.
5. Core and slice the pears thinly just before serving, then toss them gently with 1 tablespoon of the dressing.
6. Toss the greens in a large bowl with about two-thirds of the remaining dressing, until every leaf is lightly coated but not wet.
7. Divide the greens among four plates or spread them on a platter, and fan the pear slices over the top.
8. Drizzle with the last of the dressing, scatter the Asiago and cashews over, and finish with a grind of black pepper.

Notes from the kitchen

• The dressing keeps a week in the refrigerator; add the green onion on the day if storing it longer than two days.
• Shaved Parmesan or a mild aged cheddar can stand in for the Asiago.

Scaling for a holiday buffet

For a buffet, I build the salad on platters rather than in a bowl, because tossed salad wilts at the bottom of a deep bowl within half an hour. Spread lightly dressed greens on a wide platter, layer the pears, cheese and nuts over them, and put a small pitcher of extra dressing beside it. Make two platters and keep the second, undressed, in the refrigerator until the first is half gone.

A useful measure: about 1 cup of loosely packed greens per guest on a buffet with other dishes, and 1 1/2 cups as a plated first course.

On a buffet the salad sits beside rich dishes, so it goes a bit further than you might think. For twenty guests, five or six heads of endive, two or three heads of radicchio and two heads of leaf lettuce usually make the 20 cups after trimming.

The morning of the party, wash and dry the greens and roll them loosely in clean kitchen towels inside large bags in the refrigerator. Toast the nuts and shave the cheese. Leave only the pears and the assembly for the last half hour.

On the holiday table

This salad pairs naturally with roast pork, a glazed ham or a beef tenderloin, and it is pretty next to the Brussels sprouts with maple walnut vinaigrette for a vegetable-heavy buffet. For more ideas through the cold months, see the seasonal table and the rest of the soups and salads.

When it is right, every leaf glistens without pooling dressing on the platter, and the radicchio stays crisp enough to crack when you bite it.