Warm salads are one of those things that's usually associated with winter grains and root vegetables, but throwing wedges of leafy greens on the grill is a great way to intensify their flavor while turning the leaves and stems into a satisfying meal. This grilled endive salad with honey roasted cashews and gorgonzola is one of my favorite grilled salads for its balance of flavors, textures, and tastes.
The char-grilled endives are dressed before they're grilled, which seasons them to the core. The high heat from the grill crisps the outer leaves, while rendering the stem meaty and crunchy. The smoky green flavor of the endives pairs beautifully with the salty, pungent gorgonzola, which starts to melt as it hits the hot leaves. These components are all brought together by clusters of nutty honey roasted cashews. They start off crunchy and sweet as you take a bite, but slowly turn creamy as you chew, with small flashes of kosher salt that makes them unstoppably addictive. I always make some extra nuts because half of them inevitably end up in my stomach before they make it onto the salad.
The preparation for this salad is fairly simple, and since you can do it all on the grill, you can avoid heating up your house. First, the endives are dressed with olive oil, sherry vinegar, and honey. By dressing the endives before they get grilled, it not only keeps the endives from getting soggy at the end, it acts as a marinade. The honey in the dressing is less about adding sweetness and more about balancing out the acidity of the vinegar, while giving the grilled endives a gorgeous caramelized glaze as they grill.
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Units
Ingredients
For honey roasted cashews
- 50 grams raw cashew nuts (about ⅓ cup, chopped)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Kosher salt
For endives
- 2 endives (quartered)
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoons sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt (halve if using regular salt)
- ground black pepper
For salad
- 25 grams Gorgonzola
- flat-leaf parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
- To make the honey roasted cashews, prepare a silicone mat, or a piece of parchment paper.
- Add the chopped 50 grams raw cashew nuts to a pan, along with the 1 tablespoon honey, and roast over medium heat until the nuts are medium brown, and the honey has reached a dark brown. You can do this step over a grill if you like.
- Immediately turn the nuts out onto the silicone mat and sprinkle the nuts with a little bit of Kosher salt.
- For the 2 endives, use paper towels to make sure the quartered pieces are very dry, and then line them up in a tray, cut-side up.
- Make the sauce by mixing together the 1 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoons sherry vinegar, and 1 teaspoons honey. This is easiest to do in a small plastic squeeze bottle, so you can just shake it and squeeze the dressing over the endives. Drizzle the sauce over the endives and the sprinkle with ½ teaspoon Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- Heat your grill or broiler until hot, then place the endives on the grill, cut-side up. Grill 3-4 minutes, or until grill marks appear on the bottom, then flip the endives over and grill for another 3-4 minutes, or until the edges of the endive are lightly charred.
- Return the grilled endives to the tray and drizzle with a little more olive oil. To plate the salad, pile the endive wedges into a tepee and sprinkle with crumbled 25 grams Gorgonzola, the honey roasted cashews and some flat-leaf parsley leaves. Finish with a bit of salt and pepper to taste.
Yvonne says
I tried the recipe tonight and it was tasty! I paired it with herbed potatoes to make it more filling and really enjoyed it. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe, Marc!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Yvonne, I'm glad you enjoyed this! Great idea pairing it with potatoes to turn it into a meal!
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Nandita!
nandita says
beautiful salad and a great recipe! Would love to try it