ENDIVE SALAD WITH WARM SMOKED HAM DRESSING

SERVES: 6

I first invented this while living in France, when some American friends came to visit and we couldn't resist buying 5 kilo bag of endives for 1€. See story here. My French boyfriend at the time,who usually didn't like crudité, liked this salad, so I count this recipe as a success.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb fresh endives
1 small American red onion, cut into rings. If using French red onion, try to cut really thin & don't use as many slices. American red onions are milder & sweeter than French red onions.
1/2 c. walnuts, toasted

1/2 package smoked épaulle (smoked ham shoulder), found easily in French supermarkets. Otherwise in U.S. use 4 strips of thick-cut bacon.
1 shallot, minced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh basil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard from jar
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seed. The only place in Paris I found to buy this was in the Marais. Izrael, 30 Rue François Miron, 75004, métro St. Paul. It comes in handy for other American dishes you can surprise your French friends with.
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup cold-pressed olive oil

Toast the walnuts. An easy way to do this is put them in a small frying pan. Don't add oil, there's already plenty of natural oil in nuts, Toss a few times in pan over medium high heat until golden brown. Remove nuts from pan and put in ceramic bowl to cool.

Wash the endive, cut into bite-size pieces. Loosen with fingers and layer in salad bowl with red onion slices.

Fry the épaulle or bacon. Dice it up, put into saucepan. To the saucepan, add shallots, sauté until translucent. Add spices, sugar & vinegar. Bring entire mixture to a boil, stirring well. As soon as it's reached boiling, remove from heat. Mix in olive oil.

Drizzle warm dressing over endive salad, and sprinkle with nuts. Serve immediately. Makes a good 1st course & wakes up the taste buds.