Belgian Endive and Walnut Salad (Insalata Belga e Noci)Marcus Nilsson
Crunch-crunch-crunch will end up as munch-munch-munch when this salad is served. Flavor is obviously crucial in food, and certainly this salad has flavor, but tactile sensation is also a very important factor in our food perception and appreciation. We want pasta al dente, celery crunchy, bread grilled. This salad has a lot of texture to enjoy.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
3 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 heads Belgian endive, trimmed, cut on the bias into 1-inch-thick slices
2 apples, skin on, cored, sliced into thin half-moons
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted and chopped
Preparation
Step 1
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and salt, and season with black pepper. Whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream to make a smooth, emulsified dressing.
Step 2
Toss the endive, apples, and walnuts together in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with the dressing, toss well, and serve immediately.
Excerpted from Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking Copyright © 2013 by by Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Lidia Bastianich is an Emmy award‐winning public television host, a best‐selling cookbook author, restaurateur, and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business. Lidia has married her two passions in life her family and food, to create multiple culinary endeavors alongside her two children, Joseph and Tanya. Lidia's cookbooks include Lidia's Favorite Recipes, Lidia's Italy in America, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy, and Lidia's Italy—all companion books to the three‐time Emmy‐nominated television series Lidia's Italy in America and Lidia's Italy. Lidia has also published Lidia's Family Table, Lidia's Italian‐American Kitchen, Lidia's Italian Table and La Cucina di Lidia.
Lidia is the chef/owner of four acclaimed New York City restaurants ‐ Felidia, Becco, Esca and Del Posto, as well as Lidia's Pittsburgh and Lidia's Kansas City. She is also founder and president of Tavola Productions, an entertainment company that produces high‐quality broadcast productions. Along with her son, Joe Bastianich, called LIDIA'S, and has just recently launched an exclusive line of ready‐ made homestyle meals with Whole Foods Market in the Northeast.
Lidia's first children's book, Nonna Tell Me a Story: Lidia's Christmas Kitchen, was inspired by her five grandchildren. The second installation in the series, Lidia's Family Kitchen: Nonna's Birthday Surprise, was released in the spring of 2013. Lidia gives freely of her time and knowledge, and is active member of society who participates in community service activities and special events on behalf of several foundations and Public Television.
Tanya Bastianich Manuali's visits to Italy as a child sparked her passion for the country's art and culture. She dedicated herself to the study of Italian Renaissance art during her college years at Georgetown, and earned a master's degree from Syracuse University and a doctorate from Oxford University. Living and studying in many regions of Italy for seven years, she taught art history to American students in Florence, and also met her husband, Corrado Manuali, from Rome.
Tanya created Esperienze Italiane, a custom-tour company devoted to the discovery of Italian food, wine, and art. Tanya is integrally involved in the production of Lidia's public television series and is active daily in the family restaurant business. She has also led the development of the website, lidiasitaly.com, and related publications and merchandise lines of tabletop and cookware. Together with her husband, Corrado, Tanya oversees the production and expansion of Lidia's food line, which includes ten cuts of pasta, seven sauces, and fresh meals for nationwide distribution.
Tanya has coauthored four previous books with her mother: Lidia's Favorite Recipes, Lidia's Italy, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy, and Lidia's Italy in America. In 2010, Tanya coauthored Reflections of the Breast: Breast Cancer in Art Through the Ages, a social-art-historical look at breast cancer in art from ancient Egypt to today. Tanya and Corrado live in New York City with their children, Lorenzo and Julia.
