What a simple, fresh salad. Jake loved learning how easy it is to work with avocados, from peeling and pitting them to dicing the creamy flesh. The key, of course, is finding perfectly ripe avocados…our first try at Citarella yielded bright green baseballs, which we wisely left at the store.

The salad is bright and lemony, with a nice textural contrast between the crunchy endive and the creamy avocados. Unfortunately, instead of serving this as a salad course, we ate it alongside lamb chops and grilled veggies. As I got into the lamb, I found the avocado way too rich. I would stick to this dish as a salad course, with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Ben, on the other hand, would’ve eaten the entire plate by himself! And Zack—let’s just say that endive and avocados just ain’t his thang.

Endive & Avocado Salad

From Barefoot Contessa Parties! by Ina Garten, ©2001

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 heads endive
• 3 ripe Haas avocados, peeled and seeded

Directions
Whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to make a vinaigrette. Remove a 1/2-inch from the stem end of each endive, discard the core, and cut the rest across into 1-inch chunks. Cut the avocados into large dice or wedges. Toss the avocados and endive with the vinaigrette. Season, to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Category: Recipes