Catalan Endive-Avocado Salad with Blue Cheese

An elegant composed salad of endive and avocado slices, a shredded carrot 'compote', blue cheese crumbles and toasted walnuts, drizzled with a tarragon-mustard dressing.

Recipe Ingredients:

Dressing:
1/4 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3/4 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
1/2 tablespoon grainy mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves

Salad:
2 heads Belgian endive
1 1/2 large avocados, thinly sliced
3 cups, loosely packed, peeled and coarsely shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
2 ounces toasted, chopped walnuts

Cooking Directions:

1. For Dressing: In a small bowl, stir together the half-and-half, mayonnaise, tarragon vinegar, mustard, and tarragon leaves. Put the dressing into a squirt bottle.
2. For Salad: Trim the endive heads and separate the leaves. Arrange the leaves in a circle on salad plates, dividing them among six plates. Top each endive leaf with a thin slice of avocado.
3. Toss 2 tablespoons of the dressing with the coarsely shredded carrots. Spoon 1/2 cup of the carrot mixture onto the middle of each plate. Crumble the blue cheese and sprinkle about 1/4 cup over each salad. Sprinkle with the walnuts. Drizzle the salads with the remaining salad dressing.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe and photograph courtesy of Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.