Escarole Salad with Chevrot and Walnut Pesto

Recipe created by Tia Keenan

Serves 4

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Escarole is a slightly bitter leafy green with a distinctly nutty undertone. The toasted walnuts reinforce the nuttiness of the escarole and the Chevrot, with its dense, nutty paste. The recipe provides for enough dressing to make a heavily-dressed salad, which hearty escarole can definitely handle. If your preference is for a more lightly dressed salad, set some of the dressing aside for another salad. It works well enough on a simple green salad.

INGREDIENTS

1 whole Chevrot

½ head Escarole, cleaned and cut into large pieces

½ cup toasted walnuts, divided

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

½ teaspoon kosher salt

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup flat leaf parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS

Slice the top and bottom off of the Chevrot with a cheese wire or a piece of waxed dental floss and discard. Cut the rest of the cheese into five ¼ inch rounds. Cut those pieces into quarters and set them aside in the refrigerator while you make the dressing.

Pulse ½ cup walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in a food processor. With the processor running, add the olive oil and continue mixing until well blended. Toss the escarole leaves with the dressing, then add in the cheese, parsley, and remaining walnuts and serve immediately.