Endive and Fennel Salad With Mint and Orange-Blossom Dressing

Elmotoo's Note:

Shamelessly swiped from the 'net ... a recipe by Ptolemy Mann. “This is one of my favourite salads, simple and clean, and very refreshing for the taste buds,” Mann says. It’s a perfect palate-cleanser after the terrine. The wonderfully tart, fresh dressing has a sweetness because of the honey and orange blossom. Mann refuses to use vinegar in her dressing, relying on lemon and lime – “It’s so much subtler.”

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 4 endives, a mixture of green and red
• 2 fennel bulbs
• 1 bunch mint leaf, picked from stems

dressing

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon runny pale honey
• 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Slice an inch off the stem of the endives and the outer leaves will fall away. Peel away the others until just the cores are left. Slice the cores into quarters. Rinse the leaves, then pat them dry and place in a large bowl.
2. Cut the fennel bulbs in half and slice into semicircular slivers, right up to and including the fluffy green part. Add to the endives, along with the mint leaves.
3. For the dressing, pound the garlic using a pestle and mortar until it starts to break down. Slowly add the olive oil and stir with the pestle, then add the lemon and lime juice. The ratio of lemon to oil is a personal preference, so experiment. Next, add the honey and orange-blossom water, and season. Toss into the salad just before serving.

Reviews

[Chef Kate]

This is a little bit of a cheat, because I am rating the dressing as opposed to the complete salad. That being said, the dressing is a knockout. I followed it pretty much to the letter, adding the last bit of oil slowly and tasting. I did add some salt, but no other deviations. I put it in a jar and brought it to dinner with friends. The salad bowl had frisee, butter lettuce, tomato, cucumber, basil, mint. Sadly, there was no endive, no fennel. But the dressing was a HUGE success. Combined with the mint and the licorice of the basil, it was a perfect foil for the bitter frisee and the sweet greens. Superb, Elmotoo!! Thanks.

[Cookgirl]

Chef Kate's right! The dressing {is} good! Fennel isn't my favorite vegetable (don't hate it although I love the fronds) but I loved it in this salad. There were so many different flavors happening. I think the only thing I would omit is the garlic or use a small clove. I couldn't find the purple variety of endive because the store was out but I had a special heirloom lettuce called 'malawi' that worked really well and was close in color to purple endive. Fresh mint from our garden, fresh local organic garlic from our CSA box and I added a little bit of zest from both citrus to the dressing. Reviewed for NA*ME tag/Summer and Veg Tag/June.