
Rose Fooks
This blood orange, radicchio, pistachio and Stilton salad is a bright and beautiful starter that makes the perfect intro to a rich festive feast.
This salad has some really bold flavours - sweet and tangy blood orange, bitter leaves and the creamy mustiness of the Stilton cheese. But even though the flavours are big, it's still a light and refreshing course, and won't fill you up before the main event. It's a great starter to serve before a big joint of gammon or beef, though it's also a refreshing alternative to smoked salmon on the big day, before turkey, duck or goose. It's brilliantly easy to prepare - ready in just 10 minutes, and you can make up the dressing well in advance.
Ingredients
- 1 head radicchio (500g) or 2 heads chicory
- 2 blush or blood oranges, zested and cut into segments
- 20g pistachios, chopped
- 100g Stilton, crumbled
For the dressing:
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- ½ tbsp honey
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp walnut or extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Mix the dressing ingredients together in a clean jam jar and seal until ready to use. Shake well before using.
- On the day, separate the radicchio leaves, and toss with some of the dressing. Arrange on a platter or on individual plates, and scatter over the orange segments, pistachios, Stilton and orange zest.
Top tips for making blood orange, radicchio, pistachio and Stilton salad
Using walnut oil adds a subtle nutty flavour to the dressing. If you don’t have it to hand, use extra virgin olive oil.
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Jess is the Group Food Editor at Future PLC, working across brands in the woman’s lifestyle group, including Woman and Home, Woman’s Weekly, Woman, Woman’s Own, Chat, womanandhome.com and Goodto.com. Hailing from the Antibodies, Jess has a background in media and video production, with many years of experience working on tv and commercial video projects. After relocating to the UK, Jess studied at Leiths School of Food and Wine in London, graduating with a diploma in culinary arts before gaining a scholarship to study at the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Patisserie (ENSP) in France, where she learned the fine art of French patisserie.
- Rose FooksDeputy Food Editor