Chicory and Green Bean Salad

 

This beautiful pastel-coloured Chicory and Green Bean Salad had my husband's jaw on the table last night!  It was refreshing and the flavour combinations were spectacular!  Here's what I did...

Serves 2 to 4
Difficulty - so easy!
Preparation time - about 15 minutes
Wine as accompaniment - Van Loveren Neil's Pick Colombar 2008

Ingredients
2 chicons of chicory, washed and separated into 'leaves'
180g fine French green beans, topped
Handful of pinenuts
Half a red onion, finely sliced
Avocado, sliced
White wine vinegar
Grapseed oil
Olive oil
Balsamic glaze
Maldon salt and lemon rind mixture (see last Blog post)

Method
1.  Heat the Grapeseed oil in a pan and flash fry the beans until tender.
2.  Add the pinenuts and cook until they turn golden brown.  Set aside and allow to cool.
3.  Sprinkle with Maldon salt and lemon rind mixture and toss.
4.  Place the chicory 'leaves' on a platter, and scatter the beans and pinenuts on top.
5.  Toss the onions in a dash of white wine vinegar (it neutralises most of the burn of an onion.)  Scatter on top of the salad.
6.  Toss the avocado slices in the left-over vinegar mixture and scatter over the salad.
7.  Drizzle the salad with olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Enjoy!  Some people don't like the 'bitterness' of the chicory, but it truly is a fascinating flavour, and it helps when serving something slightly rich - it cuts through the richness and leaves one feeling less 'heavy'.  Hope you love it, or at least make an honest attempt to fall in love with it soon!

Comments

[Sophia]

Thanks, Juno and Nina! I met the producer of our local chicory at the Good Food and Wine Show this past weekend...what an interesting crop to grow!
Glad you approve!
xx

[Juno]

A lovely looking salad - exactly my type of food.

[nina]

This is indeed a salad that will make my jaw drop too!!!