Chicory and pear is a lovely combination and the tasty blue cheese dressing brings the two together perfectly. You can blitz the blue cheese into the dressing with the cream if you like, rather than crumble it into the salad.
Trim the bases from the chicory and separate the leaves. Put the white wine, wine vinegar, water and sugar into a medium pan together with a pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
Place half the chicory leaves in a bowl and pour over the pickling liquor, making sure the chicory is fully submerged or it will start to brown. Cover with cling film and leave until cold.
To make the dressing, put the egg yolks, lemon juice and sugar into a blender and blitz until smooth. Add the olive oil in a steady stream until it is all incorporated. Add the cream and blitz briefly to combine, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
To assemble the salad, drain the pickled chicory and place in a large bowl with the raw chicory. Slice the pickled walnuts and add them to the bowl. Peel, halve, core and slice the pears, then add to the salad.
Crumble in the cheese and toss gently to mix. Add a good drizzle of dressing and mix carefully so as not to bruise the leaves. Season with salt and pepper.
Lay the salad on a large platter, scatter over the watercress and drizzle with the remaining dressing to serve.