Christmas Lima Bean and Chicory Salad With Hazelnut Smoked Maple Vinaigrette

This is a showstopper salad with an absolutely irresistible dressing. Your guests will be licking their plates. It has a bacon quality because of the hazelnut oil and smoked maple syrup and a tiny kick of heat from the hot vinegar but plenty of sweetness to balance the bitterness of the chicory. Make this in the winter and early spring when chicory is bursting at the farmers markets.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Cooked Christmas Lima Beans (chilled, drained and rinsed)
• Radicchio or other Chicory
• 1 Medium Apple Sliced into small wedges, seeds and core removed
• 1 Small Shallot Very Thinly Sliced On A Mandolin
• 2 Tablespoons Gravenstein Apple Cider Vinegar 

Hazelnut Smoked Maple Vinaigrette 

• 2 Tablespoons Hazelnut Oil
• Reserved Vinegar From Above
• 1/4 Teaspoon Smoked Maple Syrup
• 1/2 Teaspoon Hot Honey
• Pinch of Sea Salt                

Directions:

1. Marinate the shallots in the apple cider vinegar for 30 minutes to 2 hours. It's great to do this while you are cooking the beans. 
2. Roughly tear the chicory leaves and put them on a salad plate. Add the apple slices and beans.
3. Remove the shallots from the vinegar, reserving the vinegar for the dressing, and arrange them on the salad.
4. Add the hazelnut oil, smoked maple syrup, hot honey and sea salt to the vinegar and mix well with a fork.
5. Spoon the dressing over the salad and enjoy!