I remember the first time I ate this salad as a young chef, having crossed the border from Germany into Alsace in France to visit a wonderful little wine bar. It is the most magical, simple dish but it delivers everything in terms of taste with the bitter chicory, sweet pear, salty cheese, fatty oil, and the crunch of the nuts. I started to serve it when I opened Café 21 in Ponteland in 1994 and have been serving it ever since.
French café salad
Author: Terry Laybourne
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- For the dressing:
- 3tbsp white wine vinegar
- 4½tbsp sunflower oil (or rapeseed oil)
- 9tbsp walnut oil
- salt
- milled white pepper
- For the salad:
- 4 heads of chicory
- 120g walnuts
- 2 ripe (but firm) Williams or Comice pears, cut into 4mm slices
- 120g Roquefort cheese
- 1tbsp flat parsley leaves, torn
- 1tbsp chopped chives
- milled white pepper
- *You can add some extra colour by adding red chicory or radicchio
Method
- For the dressing – whisk all the ingredients together, season to taste, and place in the fridge.
- For the salad – separate the leaves of chicory from their roots and wash in lots of iced water. Drain, then dry in a salad spinner. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Lightly toast the walnuts under the grill (or in a dry, non-stick frying pan). Allow them to cool and then add them to the bowl. Cut the pears into quarters from top to bottom and then into 4mm thick slices, and add them to the bowl. Break the Roquefort into random size chunks and add to the bowl.
- Whisk the dressing once more before pouring it over the salad.
- Add the parsley and chives, and a good grind of pepper.
- Toss everything together before serving.
