Salade d'Endive sauce moutarde´, otherwise known as Chicory Salad with mustard vinaigrette.
Sometimes simple things are the best - at the end of winter I crave crunchy textures, and flavours with a bit of punch. This recipe, forgive the pun, just cuts the mustard. By the way, most Dijon mustard is not grown or made in or around Dijon. But there is one independent Burgundian company, Edmund Fallot, making mustard traditionally - I recommend it. If you are in Beaune you can visit their little museum.
It is a confusing fact that what the French call ‘endive’ we call chicory, and what they call ‘chicorée’ or ‘chicorée frisée’ is curly endive to us.
FOR 4 PEOPLE
500g (1 lb), or slightly more, chicory
Remove any old, wilting, outer leaves from the chicory. Cut off the base. Cut out the inner bitter heart, which means scooping out about 3 cm (11⁄2 in) from the base upwards with a pointed knife. Rinse and dry. Slice them in rounds of about 3-4 cm (11⁄2 in). Now they are ready to mix with the mustard vinaigrette.
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons of groundnut or sunflower oil
1 teaspoon red or white wine vinegar
salt and black pepper
The vinaigrette is made rather like a mayonnaise (in fact it is sometimes called a false mayonnaise). Put the tablespoon of mustard in a small bowl. Add the vinegar, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Slowly, drop by drop at first, add the oil, stirring all the time to incorporate it. It can easily separate, so be cautious. (Despite this it will only take about five minutes to make.)
Optional: a teaspoon of boiling water can be added at the end to stabilise the sauce.