Satsuma Endive Winter Salad

Are you seeing a theme yet? Winter salads galore where I tempt you with a citrus and a dairy product. It seems to be working pretty well. I mean...I'm fooled. I'm wanting winter salads! I didn't even think I LIKED endive. But I was wrong. Today's recipe is endive with satsuma oranges and mascarpone cheese. We threw in a little bit of dates, almonds, a maple dressing and mint....and *instant coffee*. Now, I'm not sure how to break this to you, but as weird as it sounds, it was SO RIGHT. 

This dish is the perfect lunch side salad (just add grilled chicken to round it out for a meal). Think of it as a pick me up. I mean, you've got coffee (check), dates, vitamin C and crunchy almonds. I get excited about every single one of those ingredients. The vitamin C packed Satsuma oranges are something that's relatively new to me. They're mandarin or Christmas oranges and are one of the sweetest varieties of citrus. Last winter my friend Katie sent me a picture and told me it was NECESSARY to procure these. Which I did and will do every time I see a container of them.

As for the mascarpone cheese, when was the last time you had it NOT in a tiramisu? I will raise my hand and openly admit my answer is never. For shame. I think because I only consider it in tiramisu it becomes difficult for me to think beyond the dessert usages. But I was very, very wrong because this is something that 100% needs to be used in more savory ways. Please buy all the mascarpone cheese.

Satsuma Endive Salad

/// Ingredients ///

• 3 Satsumas,  broken into segments
• 1 T Mint, chopped 
• 4 pitted Dates sliced
• 1.5 T slivered Almonds (salt and pepper flavored)
• Sprinkle of Coffee (a bit less than 1/2 t)
• 1 Endive rough chopped
• Maple Dressing (2 t cider vinegar, 2 t dijon, 1.5 T evoo)
• 1/3 cup mascarpone (smeared on the platter)

/// Directions ///  Spread mascarpone on bottom of serving dish. Add cider vinegar, dijon mustard and extra virgin olive oil in a bowl and whisk to incorporate set aside to drizzle over the salad. Chop endive and place over mascarpone. Make sure to mix the 'leafier' side and the stalk side of the chopped endive. Add the remaining ingredients over the top and pour the dressing over the dish.