Citrus & Endive Salad

Take advantage of the citrus season. The many citrus varieties are perfectly enjoyable on their own, but also fun to combine them with greens for some lighter fare. I typically don’t find myself combining much citrus with anything outside the realm of baking, but today I had a craving for a bright citrusy salad.

Orange & Endive Salad:

3 heads of endive

6 small oranges, such as mandarins

½ cup feta cheese

2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped

6 Tablespoons mandarin orange juice

1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon shallots, minced

1 ½ teaspoons granular sugar

3 Tablespoons grape seed oil

 To prepare this salad I suggest preparing the dressing first and then the salad. Endive tends to discolor once it has been cut open. You can submerge the prepared endive in water with a little lemon juice or prepare it last.

 Whisk together the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, shallots and sugar. Set aside. Simply remove the rind of the mandarins and slice; remove any seeds. Prepare the endive by first cutting of the ends and separating the leaves. I like to cut the leaves in half and that’s it.

 Arrange the endive and orange slices on a platter and sprinkle over with feta cheese and parsley. Now we can finish the dressing by whisking the acids (orange juice and vinegar) into the oil. I find that emulsifying a vinaigrette this way create a smooth and creamy consistency, or combine the dressing a food processor , adding the oil in a steady stream with the blade running.

If you’ve liked this recipe try this variation, use red endive instead of the regular variety, using chervil instead of parsley and swapping out the feta for goat cheese. Does a serving of salad deprive you of a more substantial meal; why not serve this alongside a piece of grilled fish or chicken.