Radicchio Salad With Walnuts and Pears
Updated Nov. 6, 2025
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons salted butter
- 2tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1½cups walnut halves
- Salt
- Ground cayenne
- 1tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1tablespoon lemon juice
- 1tablespoon walnut oil
- 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
- 1medium head radicchio, leaves torn into 1-inch strips
- 1medium head chicory leaves, preferably Castelfranco, radicchio or Belgian endive, torn into 2-inch strips
- 2firm, ripe pears, preferably Bartlett, Comice or D’Anjou
For the Walnuts
For the Dressing
For the Salad
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the walnuts: Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and simmer until you have a dark caramel glaze, about 2 minutes.
- Step 2
Add walnuts and stir to coat well. Cook until fragrant and crisp, another minute or two. Dump walnuts onto a sheet of parchment. Let cool, then break apart any nuts that are stuck together. Sprinkle with salt and a good dash of cayenne to taste. Set aside.
- Step 3
While nuts cool, make dressing: Whisk together red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, walnut oil and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
Make the salad: Put radicchio and Castelfranco in a salad bowl. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Peel the pears, if you wish, and slice ¼-inch thick. Add to bowl along with dressing and toss well to coat. Top with a handful of candied walnuts. Serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
Add blue cheese because why is it not in this recipe? And then—perfection!
Um, not sure what this means? Use one kind or use a single kind? "Chicories, with their slightly bitter flavor, serve as a pleasant seasonal alternative to tender greens in this autumnal salad. Use a single kind — ruby-red radicchio, Belgian endive, curly endive (frisée) or escarole, or stick with one kind."
@Robin Looks like it’s just an editing error. Use a variety of greens, or one kind.
Fabulous salad for fall. I made 2 tweaks: 1) used pecans because I like them better, and crisped them in the oven for 5 minutes after coating in the butter/sugar mixture; and 2) used unpeeled, roasted Bosc pears. Bosc pears hold their shape and crispness when roasted. I used the pear preparation for Roasted Pear Bread. Loved this salad!
You say, "Chicories, with their slightly bitter flavor, serve as a pleasant seasonal alternative to tender greens in this autumnal salad. Use a single kind — ruby-red radicchio, Belgian endive, curly endive (frisée) or escarole, or stick with one kind." What is the difference between using a single kind or sticking with one kind? This makes absolutely no sense to me!!
Used candied pecans and clapp pears, because that's what we had. Agree that blue cheese would have been a nice addition.