Forkless Red Endive and Tapenade Salad

Posted by Gabi on Monday, January 18, 2010

Things have been extra-busy lately. If I'm not at work, I'm working from home, working in an internet cafe, or driving to or from work. Still, a girl has got to eat, and foodie that I am, no matter how busy I get, the food I eat needs to be fresh and delicious. Thankfully, my refrigerator holds several jars of all three flavors of tapenades from The Olive Press.

These versatile jars of deliciousness mean that, at the end of an exhausting day, I am just moments away from dinner. Whether I spread it on a sandwich, spoon it over pan-roasted fish, chicken or tofu, toss it with hot pasta, or spread it over toasted baguette slices, I'm eating well in just minutes.

Sometimes, I'm so busy that I don't even have time for silverware. OK...maybe that's an exaggeration, but this pretty salad comes together in moments and crisp endive makes a wonderful, edible "scooper" for the tapenade. If you can't find red endive, regular endive is fine.

Ingredients

8 small heads of red endive, washed, sliced in half lengthwise, cored

3 tbsp medium-intensity extra virgin olive oil, like Mission Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 cup dried cranberries

1/8 cup raw almonds, chopped

1/3 cup your favorite tapenade from The Olive Press

Freshly-cracked pepper to taste

Directions

Arrange endive in a circular pattern, as pictured on four salad plates. Drizzle each plate of endive lightly with the olive oil and lemon juice. Spoon a dollop of tapenade in the center of each circle of endive, so it looks like a flower. Top each endive flower with a sprinkle of Parmesan and equal amounts of the dried cranberries and almonds. Garnish lightly with pepper.

Eat by using the endive leaves to scoop up other ingredients.

Serves 4.