Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1 navel orange, cut into sections, juice reserved
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 heads endive
• 3 red bell peppers, roasted and quartered
• 1/2 cup pitted and chopped kalamata olives
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 6 ounce ball buffalo mozzarella, sliced lengthwise into 5 pieces, then cut into strips
• 6 large multigrain crostini

Directions:

Prepare multigrain crostini by rubbing a crushed garlic clove on a 3/4 inch thick slide of multigrain baguette, brush with olive oil, dust with salt and pepper, and place on a baking sheet in a 375 oven for 13 minutes, or until golden brown but still chewy.

Combine the raisins, reserved orange juice, and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Let the raisins soak for 30 minutes. Drain the raisins and set aside; reserve the marinating liquid. Whisk the olive oil, mustard, garlic, basil, marinating liquid, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl.

Cut the endive heads in half and then slice them thinly into sticks. Add the sliced endive, roasted peppers, olives, onion, orange segments, and soaked raisins to the bowl and toss. Add the mozzarella strips to the bowl. Toss again. Divide the salad among 6 bowls and top with the crostini.

Yield:

6 servings

Source:

This recipe is courtesy of Chef Frank McClelland, world-class chef and owner of L’Espalier restaurant in Boston. He is one of the nation’s master chefs and was early to embrace the farm-to-table or "locavore" dining philosophy. This recipe is from his cookbook Wine Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings with Seasonal Menus.