5 Minute Belgian Endive Salad with Apples and Walnuts

Martha M. Henze, MPH, MS, RDN - Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Global Public Health Epidemiologist

Looking for an interesting winter lettuce to spruce up your evening dinner? Try a classic Belgian endive salad which is traditionally a combination of endive, apples, cheese, and walnuts. It is one of 200+ dietitian-approved recipes that will be available with the MyNetDiary Premium membership later this fall!

Belgian endive salad is a traditional mixture of endive, apples, cheese, and walnuts. Both curly endive, also known as frisee, and Belgian endive have a slightly bitter taste which adds a unique twist to a salad. Many pre-made salad mixtures contain endive because of its distinctive shape and flavor. The leaves of Belgian endive are shaped like a canoe which provide a great base for an appetizer when topped with feta cheese, cranberries and walnuts. What a perfect color combination of red, green and white for upcoming holiday parties!

In the 1960's endive used to be the premier salad green in winter. Now, I know why endive was my German father-in-law's favorite winter green. Not only did he like the flavor, but all other lettuces were out of season. Endive is a good source of vitamin K, essential to promote clotting of your blood, and vitamin A and vitamin C, which are valuable to strengthen your immune system and may help prevent winter colds.

Be creative and make it your own!

Enjoy the recipe below; however, note that there are variations you can try in terms of different types of cheese and varieties of endive for other unique flavors.

Cheese: Strong-flavored cheese, such as Gruyere or Roquefort
Lettuce: Radicchio, Escarole and Curly Endive (also known as frisee)

5 Minute Belgian Endive, Apple and Walnut Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition facts per serving

Calories: 251, 18g fat, 16g carbohydrate, 10g protein, 9.3g dietary fiber, 244 mg sodium

Ingredients

• 2 heads of endive
• 1 apple with skin, medium, about 2.5" diameter
• 3 oz. Swiss cheese
• 1/4 cup walnuts shelled (50 halves)
• 4 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons olive or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar, white
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon chives, fresh, chopped

Instructions

1. Wash, dry and chop endive lettuce. Place in a large bowl.


2. Wash and core apple. Cut into cubes and add to bowl.


3. Cut cheese into cubes and add to bowl.


4. In dry skillet, heat walnuts until aromatic, stirring as they heat up.


5. In a small bowl, mix together vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper.


6. Pour over salad.

This Belgian Endive Salad is one of 200+ dietitian-approved recipes that will be available with the Premium membership later this fall!

Foods & Recipes->Fruit & Vegetables Foods & Recipes->Salads

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