Serves 6

This recipe is inspired by a salad I love at E.A.T. in New York City. Because endive and avocados are delicious year-round, you can make this as a first course anytime. It's also a great salad for a crowd, because no cooking is needed, and the lemon juice keeps the avocados green.

½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
4 to 5 tablespoons good olive oil
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 heads of endive
4 ripe Hass avocados, peeled and seeded

Whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to make a vinaigrette.

Remove a half inch from the stem end of each endive, discard the core, and cut the rest across into 1-inch chunks. Cut the avocados into large dice or wedges. Toss the avocados and endive with the vinaigrette. Season to taste and serve at room temperature.

Copyright © 2006 by Ina Garten. All rights reserved.