Layers of endive topped with fresh dates, crumbled blue cheese, toasted walnuts and drizzled with a delicious Dijon vinaigrette.
Chef's notes
Belgian endive is a perfect canvas to bring together the wonderful and complementary flavors that will surprise and delight your family and guests.
This salad is best prepared last minute; otherwise, the endive will turn brown.
Steps
1
Toasting the Walnuts
Ingredients
1/2 cup walnuts
To start the salad, preheat the oven to 350°F (175 °C).
Place the walnuts onto an un-greased tray and toast for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown. Once the walnuts are toasted, set aside to cool completely.
2
Preparing the Vinaigrette
Ingredients
1 shallot
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
3 tbsp champagne or white wine vinegar
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Peel and roughly chop the shallots. Place into a bowl. Add the mustard salt, white pepper, a pinch of sugar and the vinegar. Whisk everything together. Slowly whisk in the oil until everything is incorporated.
Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the flavor from the shallots to infuse the vinaigrette. Strain out the shallots. Taste for seasoning, add more salt if needed. Set aside at room temperature, until ready to serve.
3
Finishing the Salad
Ingredients
8 whole, fresh dates
2 oz blue cheese (1/3 cup)
5 whole Belgian endives
To assemble the salad, start by gathering your plates and preparing all of the remaining ingredients.
Remove the seeds from the dates and slice into quarters. Crumble the blue cheese into small pieces. Cut the ends off the endive, and peel away the larger outer leaves. The smaller inside leaves you can save for another salad.
Working in layers, place two leaves onto a plate. Then place a few pieces of the dates, walnuts and blue cheese inside each leaf. Drizzle a little bit of the dressing over each leaf. Repeat with another layer: 2 endive leaves, dates, walnuts and blue cheese. Lastly, drizzle a bit more of the vinaigrette over top and finish with a little freshly-ground black pepper. Serve.
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We tried this recipe yesterday and LOVED IT ..... just excellent !! We really enjoyed the different blend of tastes and will be serving this for sure to our friends.
It's a wonderful small salad to start of a summer meal. I love belgian endives, walnuts and blue cheese but the piece de' resistance' was the dressing. It was to die for... I made it the night before my Mother's day dinner party and it had time to combine and mature. So good! Plus the way the delicate leaves and little droplets of dates, nuts and blue cheese looks so elegant and yet it was so easy - just remember to maybe have someone else watch the nuts roasting while you are cooking an extravagent feast. They were a little crispy ;)
This is so delicious. Inspired by an appetizer from Seasons in the Park in Vancouver. Don't be afraid by the Belgium Endive. Even people that have told me that they don't like Endive, have loved this salad.
My guests were so intrigued by this salad that they insisted on "helping" which meant that they joined me in the kitchen, assembled and ate each delicious leaf as they created them. They loved the flavors that, once combined, were absolutely addictive. Thank you for an incredibly simple, fabulous salad.
So glad you liked this. One friend of ours calls them "french tacos" (perhaps they should be Belgian Taco's).I love this recipe too. Simply and addictive.
Thanks for these "French Tacos". I normally find endive too bitter to enjoy, however, you can't go wrong with the combination of blue cheese and walnuts. It's one of my favorites, so I thought I'd give it a try. The dates add a nice touch of sweetness. It's a great combination of flavors, with the endive offering a nice, crunchy texture.
Wow, this was so good and deserves it 100% rating. Only change I made was to use pecans as hubby doesn't like walnuts. We have salad every evening and this was a great change. I will be serving this salad for sure at my next dinner party. Thanks Dawn for another great recipe.
This is quite possibly my favorite recipe on Rouxbe; it's so simple, elegant, and delicious. It's been the perfect opener for a number of dinner-dates! ;)
So glad you like them. I have to say they are one of my favorites as well. I have nicknamed them "French Tacos"...
I love to make them for people, just to see the look on their faces when they bite into them. Everyone is usually around when I am assembling them and they are always so surprised as to how easy and tasty they are.
I made the salad and coconut squash soup for a progressive diner for 6 of our Neighbours here in Canada, and would like to say it was a great success! Also like to say thank you for the great recipes and lessons, it has taken my cooking to a great new level, thanks again.
O-o-o-h, what a wonderful flavor and different taste each item brings out! The Dijon Vinaigrette (we used white wine) is perfect for this. Each bite is a different experience. We have has this three times this week! This recipe will be one of my top ten, for sure.
Made this tonight with blackened cajun chicken and ended up with a cold dinner, as my wife wouldn't let us start dinner until she took a bunch of photographs of it. This is seduction food!
I've been excited to try this salad as I almost never have endive; however, after 4 different trips to the store, I simply couldn't find any! So, I decided to make this with radicchio and needed to substitute almonds for the walnuts (as my husband is allergic to walnuts). While the dish didn't look quite as refined as it does with the endive (because the endive are so petite), it was still quite pretty and delicious! We ate the "tacos" with our hands and each bite had the tang of the vinaigrette, the richness and saltiness of the blue cheese, the sweetness of the date, the crunch of the almonds - every bite a perfect bite! Thanks Rouxbe!
Joe G • Rouxbe Staff •This is so delicious. Inspired by an appetizer from Seasons in the Park in Vancouver. Don't be afraid by the Belgium Endive. Even people that have told me that they don't like Endive, have loved this salad.
Marcelo B •Thanks for these "French Tacos". I normally find endive too bitter to enjoy, however, you can't go wrong with the combination of blue cheese and walnuts. It's one of my favorites, so I thought I'd give it a try. The dates add a nice touch of sweetness. It's a great combination of flavors, with the endive offering a nice, crunchy texture.
Liz S •Wow, this was so good and deserves it 100% rating. Only change I made was to use pecans as hubby doesn't like walnuts. We have salad every evening and this was a great change. I will be serving this salad for sure at my next dinner party. Thanks Dawn for another great recipe.
Sean L •This is quite possibly my favorite recipe on Rouxbe; it's so simple, elegant, and delicious. It's been the perfect opener for a number of dinner-dates! ;)
Dawn T •So glad you like them. I have to say they are one of my favorites as well. I have nicknamed them "French Tacos"... I love to make them for people, just to see the look on their faces when they bite into them. Everyone is usually around when I am assembling them and they are always so surprised as to how easy and tasty they are.
Jillian R •I made the salad and coconut squash soup for a progressive diner for 6 of our Neighbours here in Canada, and would like to say it was a great success! Also like to say thank you for the great recipes and lessons, it has taken my cooking to a great new level, thanks again.
Matthew C •Great salad. I've never been a fan of either endive or blue cheese, but I've made this one three nights running and it's awesome. Thank-you.
Jim R •O-o-o-h, what a wonderful flavor and different taste each item brings out! The Dijon Vinaigrette (we used white wine) is perfect for this. Each bite is a different experience. We have has this three times this week! This recipe will be one of my top ten, for sure.
Ken R • Rouxbe Staff •Oh great! Jim, you are so right that the Dijon Vinaigrette helps carry the dish. We're glad that you enjoyed it!
Leigh S •Made this tonight with blackened cajun chicken and ended up with a cold dinner, as my wife wouldn't let us start dinner until she took a bunch of photographs of it. This is seduction food!
Sunnie S •I've been excited to try this salad as I almost never have endive; however, after 4 different trips to the store, I simply couldn't find any! So, I decided to make this with radicchio and needed to substitute almonds for the walnuts (as my husband is allergic to walnuts). While the dish didn't look quite as refined as it does with the endive (because the endive are so petite), it was still quite pretty and delicious! We ate the "tacos" with our hands and each bite had the tang of the vinaigrette, the richness and saltiness of the blue cheese, the sweetness of the date, the crunch of the almonds - every bite a perfect bite! Thanks Rouxbe!