FESTIVE SEASON 2013-2014: Festive salad with chicon, radishes, walnuts, blue cheese and apples

A special meal for such a special day it would not be complete without a special side dish and this is what this seasonal salad offers! Belgian endive (or chicon) is probably the best choice for a crispy, refreshing salad that will accompany in the best way various roasted meat and poultry dishes and we actually discovered last year, when we first had this salad, that its subtle bitter/peppery flavour really compliments game meat like the wild pig for example. Chicon, in this salad, works wonderfully with the rest of the ingredients and it comes in a nice balance with the apples and the honey-mustard dressing. It is a great seasonal salad which can also be served as a first dish in other occasions through the Winter months

Recipe of Elias Demirtzoglou,

"Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 8 people)

For the salad:

3 celery stalks, finely chopped (the tender part)

4 medium Belgian endives

3 red apples

1 bunch of small radishes, cut in half

200 gr. of stale bread slices (crust on), cut in medium cubes

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

200 gr. of Roquefort cheese (or blue cheese or Stilton)

100 gr. of walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

½ a lemon, the juice

salt
pepper

For the dressing:

4 tbsp of honey

5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp of mild mustard

Method:

Put in a bowl the bread cubes, the minced garlic, the olive oil, season with salt and toss thoroughly. Spread the bread on a baking tin and bake in a preheated oven until it becomes golden and crunchy (but not too browned).

Put the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and beat well with a whisk to blend. Leave aside.

Core, peel and cut the apples in thin slices. Put in a bowl and drizzle with the lemon juice so they won't turn black.

Separate the chicon leaves and transfer in a large salad bowl. Add the radishes, the celery, the apple slices and the walnuts, season with salt and pepper and toss thoroughly.

Scatter the bread cubes over and then pour with the salad dressing. Crumble the cheese on top and serve immediately.

Note:
You can either serve the salad in the bowl as mentioned or build it up in individual plates in the way it is shown in the photo on top.