A roasted fennel, pear and radicchio salad is perfect for winter weather

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Salad days are usually associated with summer, but winter is perfectly suited for crunchy, citrusy, briny salads, such as this one made with aromatic pears, licoricy fennel, spicy peperoncini and bitter radicchio.

And when it’s chilly enough to want to turn the oven on, roasting some of those veggies transforms their texture while adding an element of smoky toastiness. It’s the kind of salad that might make you rethink your idea of what a salad could be.

Two of Canada’s best-known chefs, Lynn Crawford and Lora Kirk, were inspired by their own vast backyard garden just outside Peterborough, Ont., to compile a collection of more than 150 vegetarian recipes for their new book, aptly titled Two Chefs in the Garden.

During the growing season, they spend plenty of time outside digging in the soil along with their two daughters. The parade of produce they harvest is brought back to the kitchen and transformed into restaurant-chef-but-also-home-cook-level dishes such as tempura eggplant tacos, beet falafel, ginger rhubarb custard tarts and pumpkin mac and cheese.

Crawford and Kirk love fennel for its distinctive mild anise or licorice flavour, which they say is enhanced and sweetened by roasting to create this salad. Bartlett pears are the juiciest pear to use, they say, and work so well with the crimson, slightly bitter radicchio leaves.

Roasted Fennel, Pear and Radicchio Salad with Maple Walnut Vinaigrette

Reproduced with permission from Two Chefs in the Garden by Lynn Crawford and Lora Kirk. Photography by Ash Naylor (Penguin Random House Canada).

Maple Walnut Vinaigrette:

• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp walnut oil
• 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
• Salt and cracked black pepper

Roasted Fennel, Pear and Radicchio Salad:

• 2 fennel bulbs, cored and sliced crosswise ½ inch thick (chop and reserve fronds for garnish)
• 2 tsp finely chopped jarred red peperoncini piccanti
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and cracked black pepper
• 2 Bartlett pears, quartered, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 small head radicchio, leaves separated

Garnishes:

• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 2 tbsp grated aged Gouda

Make the maple walnut vinaigrette: In a blender, combine the orange zest, orange juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, maple syrup and mustard and blend until smooth. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and walnut oil and blend until emulsified. Add the walnuts and pulse until finely chopped. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Make the roasted fennel, pear and radicchio salad: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss together the fennel, peperoncini, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Spread out evenly on the lined baking sheet and roast until the fennel is fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes. (Wipe the bowl and set it aside.) Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

In the same large bowl, combine the pears, radicchio and reserved fennel fronds. Toss with the maple walnut vinaigrette to coat.

Arrange the dressed radicchio leaves on a serving platter, then top with the roasted fennel and the pears. Garnish with the toasted walnuts and cheese. Serves 4 to 6.