This is another KayJay invention.  This is a nice winter salad.  It’s more substantial than its leafier counterparts, can be made ahead and doesn’t go all limp and mushy.  Belgian endive have a slight, but pleasant bitterness that just works with KayJay’s Dijon-Tarragon Vinaigrette.  KayJay uses feta cheese, but I wanted bleu tonight…I was feeling bleu, but not blue (I adore puns—The Progeny and The Spicy Honey are masters)!  Bleu cheese always works well with fruit and the strawberries are a nice foil for the bitterness of the endive.  Feel free to change the fruit; apple, pears, or Asian pears all work well.  You could also toss in some garbanzo beans and tuna and this becomes a meal, rather than a side salad.

Belgian endive should be in more salads.  If the bitterness is too much for you, increase the amount of strawberries and add more honey to the vinaigrette.  Orange sections or Clementines are great with this, furthering that winter salad theme.  Any way you make this, it’s a great combination.  Cut the endive into smaller pieces if you prefer; we prefer ours about 3/4-inch wide…it’s a choice.

Feel free to add some spinach or pea shoots to the endive, but add them just before serving, as they don’t hold well.  I made the salad about 2 hours before serving and it was fine.  When I made it a couple of weeks ago, I had leftovers for breakfast the next day and it wasn’t the least bit soupy…except maybe the strawberries a bit…but they’re strawberries.  They’re always good.  When you make this, you too, will be singing KayJay’s praise…she’s a wonder and she’s wonderful!