Endive, blueberries and candied pecan salad with creamy vinaigrette

Endive usually features in my fall salads but I love how it pairs with blue cheese so when I am in the mood for blue cheese in a salad there is nothing like Belgian endive to make it with. I was travelling south of Kelowna with a friend yesterday and bought beautiful blue cheese from Poplar Grove, a . I wanted to use it before forgetting it is there, which can happen in my always way-too-full fridge.

The salad is simple and the flavours fresh and bright, the slight pungency of the endive and blue cheese balanced by the sweetness of the candied nuts and sweet and tangy dried blueberries. As they say, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. The salad is best on its own as a first or last course.

Other than cooking, a lot, every day, I am also reading in preparation for an upcoming trip to the Baltic Sea, St. Petersburg and then to Iceland. These are places that have been on my bucket list that I am slowly crossing off as we get to travel to various places. Russian history is fascinating, I am on my fifth book about various members of the Romanov dynasty, and once I am done with Russian history I would like to read about Iceland, as I don’t know too much about it other than the geologically fascinating volcanos, spouting geysers, powerful waterfall and geothermal pools. I hear the food is special and I am all set to educate myself before we go. Any tips from you who have been there would be greatly appreciated.

Until next time, enjoy the salad.

Endive salad with candied nuts and creamy vinaigrete

Ingredients:

2 heads endive, one cut horizontally, the other vertically

2 tablespoon chopped parsley

Candied nuts (recipe below)

1/3 cup dried blueberries

Assembling the salad:

Pile the cut endive in a bowl and drizzle with some of the vinaigrette. Mix gently.

Scatter blueberries and candied nuts over, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Creamy vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
2 tablespoon heavy cream (whipping cream)
A pinch each salt, pepper, sugar
5 tablespoons olive oil

Place dijon, vinegar, cream in a small jar and mix with a fork to blend.
Add salt, pepper and sugar and mix.
Add the oil, cover with lid and shake to emulsify.
Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Candied nuts:

1 cup whole nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts)
1/3 cup sugar

Place sugar and nuts in a skillet and place over medium heat.

Cook, stirring occasionally until the sugar begins to melt and coat the nuts. It can burn very quickly so as soon as it begins to melt remove from heat and stir with a wooden spoon to coat the nuts, returning to heat if necessary.

Pour the nuts onto a parchment sheet and separate with the wooden spoon.

Let cool completely.

Endive salad with candied nuts and creamy vinaigrette

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