1/3 cup hazelnuts

6 cups arugula

1 head radicchio

2 to 3 cups frisée or inner leaves of curly endive

1 Asian pear

2 ounces parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

1) in an 8 - 9 inch pan in a 350 degree oven, bake hazelnuts until dark gold under skins, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour onto a towel and let stand until cool enough to touch, about 5 minutes. Rub nuts in towel to remove loose skins. Lift nuts from towel; discard skins.

2) in a blender or food processor, whirl nuts until finely ground.

3) meanwhile, discard any bruised leaves and tough stems from arugula, radicchio, and frisée. Separate radicchio and frisée leaves; discard cores. Rinse all the leaves and drain well.

4) Arrange radicchio leaves around the side of a wide, shallow bowl. Mound arugula and frisée in the center.

5) Rinse pear and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange slices on leaves and sprinkle with hazelnuts. With a vegetable peeler, shave parmesan into thin strips and scatter over salad.

6) in a small bowl, mix oil and vinegar. Pour over salad. Mix to serve, adding salt and pepper to taste.

note: this was an awesome salad. the sweetness of the pear mixed with the tangyness of the red wine vinegar was a far from subtle explosion of flavor!

one thing to keep in mind is that this is a fall salad primarily because hazelnuts are only available in the fall. you could easily replace them with anything else that is in season. the presentation of this salad also really added to the experience of the meal. it really is very pretty when it’s done.