Empire State South’s Sugarloaf Endive Salad with an Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Hands on: 20 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1/4 pound Jerusalem artichokes, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon Georgia olive oil

1/4 cup wheat berries (substitute with millet, quinoa, wild rice or any gluten-free grain)

Salt and pepper

2 heads sugarloaf endive (about 1 1/2 pounds), quartered, cored, cut into thin strips

6 champagne or lady apples, thinly sliced horizontally (use smallest apples you can find for substitution)

4 light yellow interior ribs of celery with leaves, slivered

1 cup thinly sliced radishes

1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinaigrette (see below)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Have 1 rimmed baking sheet ready.

In a medium bowl, toss Jerusalem artichokes with 1 tablespoon olive oil until evenly coated. Arrange artichokes on a rimmed baking sheet and roast 15 minutes or until soft and golden brown. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

While artichokes are roasting, in a small saucepan, add enough lightly salted water to cover wheat berries by one inch and bring to a boil. Cook wheat berries until tender, about 30 minutes, adding more water if needed. When wheat berries are done, drain and cool. Set aside.

When all ingredients are ready, in a large bowl, toss together endive, apples, celery, radishes, reserved wheat berries, reserved Jerusalem artichokes and vinaigrette. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Hands on: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Makes: 1 1/2 cups (serving size 1 tablespoon)

Ingredients

1 cup apple cider

1 cup Georgia olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 small shallot, minced.

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1/2 tablespoon chopped thyme

1/2 tablespoon brown mustard seeds or whole grain mustard

Instructions

In a small saucepan, bring apple cider to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

When cider is cool, in a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, shallot, dill, thyme and mustard seeds. Taste for seasoning. May be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Bring back to room temperature before using.

** This recipe comes from Joshua Hopkins, the executive chef at Empire State South and is sourced from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.