Aida Salad
2 heads curly endive or frisee
2 hard-boiled eggs
2 red peppers
1 melon
2 cooked or tinned artichoke hearts
citronette dressing
Use only the paler, inner sections or hearts of the curly endives; wash the leaves thoroughly, drain and dry well, then tear into fairly small pieces. Push the hard-boiled eggs through a sieve into a bowl, forcing them through with the back of a large wooden spoon. Place the red peppers under a hot grill, turning frequently, to loosen their skins. Remove the skins and cut the peppers in half, removing the stalk, seeds and white membrane. Slice into short, thin strips. Cut the melon in half, remove the seeds and use a melon bailer to scoop out small balls of flesh. If you are using fresh artichokes, drop into a bowl of cold water to which the juice of J/ 2 lemon has been added as you prepare and slice the hearts or they will discolour; Drain the artichoke hearts at the last minute and cut into strips.
Arrange a bed of curly endive on each plate, sprinkle with the artichoke strips, place the melon balls in the centre, surrounded by the red pepper strips and sprinkle with the sieved hard-boiled egg. Hand round the citronette dressing separately.