Soup & Salad

My sister came over for dinner this week, and we had one of my most favorite salads, along with a new soup, and of course a Grand Central Bakery baguette.

This salad is great, and highly adaptable, you can throw in whatever you want or have on hand. Our version last night had endive, radicchio, radishes, cilantro, fennel, celery, avocado, feta, and goat cheese. I use my mandoline to slice all the vegetables, since there is so much slicing to be done. Or more appropriately, my sister did so much slicing. At one point she was worried she was ruining it by slicing the endive too thinly, so there wouldn't be enough crunch, but I think it's just about impossible to ruin this salad.

Sliced Spring Salad, from Orangette:

This soup was perfect for a cold winter night. The recipe warns you about the spiciness, and I have a tendency to make things too spicy, so I was quite careful, and ended up with a pretty mild, albeit tasty, soup. It's a good thing it tastes so good, because I seem to be incapable of making soup without filling the pot, meaning I'll be freezing some and still eating it a couple of times this week.

Carrot & Red Lentil Soup, from Wednesday Chef:

All images mine.