Here's an interesting whole-meal salad I came up with one day. Quantites are flexible - basically as much as will fit on a plate. It's fairly fragile, so you need to construct it on the plates you're serving it on. I've used both artichokes canned in water and ones packed in oil and spices. Either works, but they have a different taste. I prefer the water-packed ones. I use a 12-year-old Mini Italia brand balsamic vinegar that one of our upscale grocery stores (Pusateri's) sells.
Endive, Red Pepper, Artichoke and Chèvre salad
2 medium-sized Belgian endives (or 1 humongous one)
14 oz artichoke hearts, drained and quartered lengthwise
10 oz piquillo peppers, drained and halved lengthwise (but see note below)
4-6 oz soft mild goat cheese (e.g. chèvre)
3 Tbsp good Balsamic vinegar (but not the really expensive stuff)
9 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
bread for sopping up the leftover dressing (optional)
Slice the base off the endive to free up some of the leaves, repeat as necessary. Lay the leaves out in a radial pattern on two plates (see image below), leaving a hole at the bottom for the goat cheese.
On each leaf, place a quarter of an artichoke heart at the base, and a half pepper at the tip. Place half the goat cheese on each plate.
Mix up a thick dressing of the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. There'll be lots. Drizzle generously over the salad. Enjoy!
Makes 2 servings.
Note: I've always drained the peppers, but it occurred to me last time that the thick juice surrounding the peppers might add a little extra flavour to the dressing. I'll try that next time.