Fish Free Basil-Pesto Endive Salad

Total time15 min

Prep time15 min

Cook time0 min

4.9

(29)

This bright, refreshing salad is all about bold flavors and beautiful simplicity — crisp endive leaves act as natural little boats for a vibrant homemade basil pesto, and the result is as stunning on a platter as it is satisfying to eat. The pesto here skips the pine nuts and parmesan entirely, built instead from fresh basil, garlic, lemon juice, and good olive oil, so it's clean, punchy, and completely plant-forward. Peppery radish slices and flat-leaf parsley add crunch and color, while a hit of lemon zest and flaky sea salt at the finish pull everything together with a little sparkle. Store-bought pestos can be a minefield of unexpected add-ins, but blending your own in the food processor takes barely a minute and gives you total control over what goes in. The endive leaves hold their shape beautifully, making this just as impressive for a dinner party starter as it is for a light weeknight bite. It's the kind of dish that looks like you put in serious effort but comes together with almost no fuss at all.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the pesto

2 oz fresh basil leaves (about 2 packed cups)
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp fine sea salt

For the salad

3 medium heads belgian endive (about 12 oz total)
4 radishes, thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tsp lemon zest
flaky sea salt, to taste

Instructions

1
Combine the basil leaves, garlic, lemon juice, and fine sea salt in a food processor. Pulse 6–8 times until the basil is roughly chopped and the garlic is minced.
2
With the processor running, stream in the olive oil in a slow, steady pour until the pesto is smooth and bright green, about 20–30 seconds. Taste and adjust salt or lemon juice as needed.

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