Garden Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

The garden salad combines four leafy vegetables, water­cress, radicchio, arugula, and endive, with contrasting colors and textures. Watercress should be crisp and bright green, and is available all year. Radicchio, an Italian wild chicory, has ruby red leaves, is shaped like a small head of lettuce, and is tightly packed like cabbage. You can buy it only at quality greengrocers, usually during the winter. Arugula, a popular Italian salad green, has long slender notched leaves that should look crisp and not wilted or discolored. Arugula is often sandy and must be rinsed thoroughly before use.

Assemble these supplies:

• 1 head radicchio or small head escarole Medium-size bunch watercress
• Small bunch arugula
• 1 head endive
• 1 egg
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Steps in preparation:

1. Place salad bowls in freezer to chill.
2. Separate radicchio leaves and discard core. Remove stems from watercress. Trim arugula stems. Wash radic­chio, watercress, and arugula, and dry in salad spinner or pat dry with paper towels.
3. Remove bruised outer leaves of endive. Slice V2 inch off base of endive, then slice endive in half crosswise and lengthwise, and separate leaves.
4. Remove salad bowls from freezer and divide greens among them. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. Separate egg, placing yolk in small bowl and reserving white for another use. Whisk yolk until thick and lemon- colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Beating constantly, add oil in thin stream until completely incorporated.
6. In another small bowl, combine mustard, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce, and stir until blended.
7. Slowly drizzle mustard mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
8. Toss salad with mustard vinaigrette and serve.

WHAT TO DRINK

A firm, acidic wine is what this menu calls for, and there are several candidates: a California Sauvignon Blanc, a small-château Graves from Bordeaux, a Pouilly Fume from the Loire, or an Italian Greco di Tufo.