Endive

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Avocado, Belgian endive and spinach are combined with oranges and radishes in this gorgeous seasonal salad.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A crunchy and colorful salad with a lively dressing. Pomegranate juice and pomegranate seeds can be substituted for the cranberry juice concentrate and cranberries.

Inspired by the classic Sicilian winter salad of blood oranges and fennel.

In this colorful salsa, fennel, olives and rosemary combine with roasted bell peppers.

For this easy starter, the nonfat yogurt is strained to a thick texture and then combined with oregano, lemon peel and cayenne.

Smoked duck adds elegance to this salad. Smoked turkey would also work well.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Toasted pecans and shaved Parmesan accent this lovely starter.

Radicchio, curly endive, butter lettuce and arugula are perfectly blended in this simple salad and tossed with a lemony dressing. Chef Hearon suggests uncorking a crisp Ligurian white wine or a California Charbono.

Food writer Janet Fletcher says, "During my childhood, the only salad on the Thanksgiving buffet was an old-fashioned Waldorf with chopped apples, celery, walnuts and mayonnaise. Frankly, I don’t miss it. This contemporary salad has the walnuts and the crunch, but is much fresher and far more inviting."

Alice Waters, who opened Chez Panisse in 1971, took salads to new heights with unusual, farm-fresh greens; she also popularized the use of goat cheese, which was being made by Laura Chenel not far from the Berkeley restaurant. Those ingredients come together in this delicious salad.