Recipe of the Month

Sweet Pear and Apple Salad with Bitter Endive and

Cream Blue Cheese Dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 heads         Endive- mixing the red and green varieties together are perfect

                        for the holidays.

2                      Red eating applies – Honeycrisp, Cameo

2                      Pears, tender Anjous works well here

½ cup             Chervil, tarragon, Italian parsley –use any or a mixture of these herbs

                        Torn or roughly chopped

                      

For The Dressing

2 ounces                   Blue cheese - Maytag Blue works well here

¼ cup                         Heavy cream

5 tablespoons          Extra virgin olive oil, plus a little more for drizzling

4 tablespoons          Cider vinegar

6 tablespoons          Water

 Method

1.        Separate the leaves from the endive, then wash and spin them dry.  Core your apples and slice them into matchsticks.  Core the pears, slice into eighths and place in a large bowl with the endive, apple and most of the herbs.

2.        To make your dressing, please all your dressing ingredients into a blender and blend for just 15 seconds until smooth.  Taste to make sure you’ve got a little extra acidity in there to cut through the bitterness of the leaves, and season if necessary. 

3.        Pour three quarters of the dressing over the salad and toss – divide them between four plates, and finish with a little extra dressing, the remaining herbs and a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

4.        A few walnuts crumbled over the top are a nice addition!

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's, Jamie At Home