Recipe: Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s Radicchio and Pear Salad With Blue Cheese and Walnuts

Looking for an easy meal to prep for the office, or a lighter dish to accompany a long lunch?

Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s go-to autumn salad – featured in her latest cookbook, A Year of Simple Family Food – is “more of a suggested combination of flavours than a recipe”. This simple number is a weekly favourite in her household and goes with just about any main dish.

The key ingredient? “A really nice crumbly blue cheese – it needs to have some body, so I tend to avoid creamy soft types.”

And if you’re looking for a wine pairing for this salad, Busuttil Nishimura recommends the 2021 Brave New Wine Riot Girl. It’s one of the wines included in her Broadsheet Wine box – available in limited quantities until May 5.

Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s radicchio and pear salad with blue cheese and walnuts
Serves 4

Ingredients:
½ head of radicchio, leaves torn
3 celery stalks, preferably the younger inner heart, finely sliced

1 pear, quartered, cored and finely sliced

50g (½ cup) walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
80g blue cheese, such as stilton, roquefort or gorgonzola

Dressing
2 tablespoons walnut or extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon

1 very small garlic glove, finely grated
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:
Simply arrange the radicchio, celery and pear on a serving plate. Scatter the walnuts and crumble the cheese over them.

Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl, then pour over the salad and serve.

This is an edited extract from A Year of Simple Family Food , published by Plum and available for $39.99.

Grab Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s Broadsheet Wine box until May 5.

julia-ostro.com

Find 10 more of Julia Busuttil Nishimura's best recipes here.