Sliced Spring Salad with Endive, Cilantro, Radishes, and Feta

(from bradleygirl’s recipe box)

Aside from the endive, cilantro, radishes, and feta, the list of ingredients below is a rough sketch. I’ve been known to substitute fennel for radicchio, and occasionally I add a few nuggets of Parmigiano Reggiano, some meaty flakes of smoked trout, or even just a few canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and dried. The key, in any case, is the quality of the ingredients. For salads like this one, I like a Hass avocado that’s on the firm side of ripe: not hard, but solid, with just a hint of give—the potential for softness, you could say. I buy my endive on the small-to-medium size—no larger than 3 ounces each—with no bruises, brown spots, or other blemishes, and I look for tight, compact heads of radicchio, each about the size of a large man’s fist, with smooth, shiny leaves. I serve this salad on its own, as the center of the meal, with a hunk of crusty bread or a few roasted sweet potato “fries” on the side.

Source: orangette

Serves 1 people

Categories: salad

Ingredients

  • 1 medium Belgian endive, root end trimmed away, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
  • 1/4 head radicchio, sliced as thinly as possible
  • 2-3 red radishes, sliced into paper-thin rounds
  • A small handful of cilantro leaves, from about 6-8 sprigs
  • Red Wine-Mustard Vinaigrette, to taste
  • 1/4 medium avocado, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
  • 1 walnut-size nub of French feta (or more), crumbled

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, combine the endive, radicchio, radishes, and cilantro leaves. Toss with vinaigrette to taste. [I find that endive salads take a bit more dressing than plain green ones.] Add the avocado and feta. Serve straight from the bowl.

  2. Optional additions or substitutions: ½ medium fennel bulb, sliced as thinly as possible, A small handful of smoked trout, torn into bite-size pieces, A small handful of chickpeas, Parmigiano Reggiano, broken into small nubs

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