Carrot, Apple, & Belgian Endive Salad

There are some strong flavours in this elaborated version of the good old Waldorf salad. I lost the celery (it is long over, alas) and replaced it with carrot and Belgian endive. With the cranberries and nuts these make for a pretty intense interplay between sweet and bitter elements. I found I needed to add more salt than I would normally put in a salad of this size to balance them out.

The anise is an unusual touch. It's one of those spices I think should be used much more often than it is, but if you can't get it (or don't want it) a bit of fennel will substitute it reasonably well. Note that grated apples will be a fair bit juicier than chopped ones, and will likely need a little less sour cream but as ever, adjust the quantity you use to the exact volume of your ingredients and to your taste.

4 servings
20 minutes prep time

2 medium carrots
1 large apple
1 or 2 large head Belgian endive
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts
1/4 to 1/3 cup sour cream
the juice of 1/2 lemon
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon anise seed, finely ground

Wash, trim, and grate the carrots. You can peel the apple, or not. You can core and chop the apple, or grate it. If you choose to grate it, use the lower quantity of sour cream - you will need a bit more if you chop it. Put these in your salad bowl.

Wash, trim, and cut the endive in half lengthwise. If it has a pithy core, cut it out. Slice them thinly across the width and add to the salad.

Add the cranberries and nuts to the salad. Mix the sour cream with the lemon juice, and put it in. Season with salt, pepper, and the ground anise seed. Mix well.




Last year at this time I made Baked Potato Skins with Samosa Stuffing.

Posted in: Ontario Food