Bitter, sweet and peppery flavors marry well in this confetti-like salad of wintery fruit and vegetables.

Makes 8 servings, about 1 3/4 cups each

ACTIVE TIME: 25 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

4 cups thinly sliced hearts of romaine
2 heads Belgian endive, cored and thinly sliced
1 bulb fennel, trimmed, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
1 15-ounce can hearts of palm, drained, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 head radicchio, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
1 red apple, cored and cut into matchsticks
1 cup thinly sliced radishes
Champagne Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Toss romaine, endive, fennel, hearts of palm, radicchio, apple and radishes together in a large salad bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss to coat. Season with pepper.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 111 calories; 7 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 11 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 3 g fiber; 424 mg sodium; 324 mg potassium.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (30% daily value).
1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 1/2 vegetable, 1 1/2 fat

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Prepare salad without dressing, cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. Toss with vinaigrette just before serving.

RELATED RECIPES: Champagne Vinaigrette

My guests are stealing this recipe. I was a little unsure about how the variety of ingredients would taste together, but everything worked beautifully. While a little time intensive, this erupted with flavor and is worth the time to prep the ingredients.

Brenda, Yakima, Wa

I made this salad for Thanksgiving. We are pretty traditional at Thanksgiving, so I was not sure how a "salad" would go over; but people scarfed it up and raved about it. I have made it several times since (but I usually leave out the hearts of palm; I don't think they are necessary, and they are quite expensive).

Anonymous, Great Falls, MT

Made this salad for the first time last Friday for a party and people asked for more. Just made it again as a first course for my Christmas dinner and people raved and took salad home with them. I did omit the hearts of palm and radish and it was just delicious.

Paulett, Ann Arbor, MI

I also left out the hearts of palm & everyone was also doubtful, 'salad?', can't we get to the good stuff? but afterwards we all agreed it was a delicious start to the meal & didn't fill you up. Very refreshing and everyone LOVED it

Fiona, New York, NY

I made this as part of our Christmas dinner. I found I am not a fan of hearts of palm and will omit that the next time or maybe replace with artichoke hearts. I really like this salad, it is very different from your average dinner salad although endive and fennel are a bit pricey in my area. My guests loved it also, they took some leftovers home. The shallot and mustard seemed to dominate the dressing flavor, so I will reduce that a bit the next time. Very good in my opinion for that special occasion meal side dish!

Monica, Tucson, AZ