White and Green Salad : Escarole, Pear, Avocado | Day 4 of 31 days of Salad

posted on: Wednesday, January 4, 2012




Today the lovely and talented Joan from Foodalogue is going to share a salad recipe with us. Joan is a world traveler and I love her taste and perspective. She cooks healthy meals that are delicious yet easy to make. I'm so excited to have her on Kitchen Corners. If you enjoy her recipe be sure to check out her blog and follow her on Facebook. And because today is such a special day and because I love birthday's I couldn't let this day go unnoticed - Happy Birthday Joan. Thanks for everything. Everything!


I was delighted when Da invited me to contribute a salad for her January 'salad-a-day' event. I think Da and I must have started blogging around the same time and somewhere along the line, probably through FoodBuzz, we found each other. I've been hooked on Kitchen Corners ever since. We're unlikely friends...you see, she's the consummate mommy blogger and I'm, well, older (ssh!). And, yet, while we are at different stages of life, I love her storytelling and her photos...and I love how deeply she loves her beautiful family and shares them with us. This one's for you, Da. Hope you, Christian, Enzo and Baby Maria like it. :)



Escarole. Most people know escarole as a soup green, generally accompanied by sausage or white beans. It's a popular vegetable in Italian-American kitchens. But, alas, it's not as popular as a salad green. I hope this post will encourage readers to try it as a base for salad because it tastes delicious raw and it provides more nutritional value than lettuce. Plus, it's pretty.



This is a lovely union of ingredients. The escarole, fennel and celery serve as a textural and fresh base for the pear and blue cheese (in this case gorgonzola) which we all know are a natural pairing. The avocado added a rich and nutty element that was cut by the spice of the scallion and the simple dressing of lemon juice and evoo.

White and Green Salad with Escarole, Pear, Avocado
(printable version)


Ingredients
  • 8 center leaves from a head of escarole
  • 1 green Anjou pear halved and cored
  • 1 Haas avocado sliced
  • 1/2 scallion minced in small rings
  • a few celery leaves
  • a few pieces of shaved fennel
  • 2 tbs. gorgonzola cheese
  • extra virgin olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon
  • salt and pepper (generous on the pepper)
Instructions
  1. Prepare escarole, pear and avocado and arrange on plate.
  2. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil.
  3. Sprinkle salt and generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.
  4. Add cheese and scallions.
  5. Finish with the juice from a freshly squeezed lemon.
Notes
1) Serves 2. 2) I used my own dry seasoning blend of coarse salt and ground fennel seed, star anise, oregano, paprika and red chili flakes. But, as noted, salt + pepper will work just fine.







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