Endive salad and dishes cooked with endive

How to prepare an endive salad? What exactly are endives and are they good for health? Endive is a leafy vegetable that is eaten from October to May. It is one of the most consumed vegetables in France. There are several varieties, namely white and red. In Belgium and northern France, endive is called chicory. Wikipedia explains that endive is the common name for Brussels chicory or Witloof chicory and is ” a variety of bitter chicory, a biennial plant of the Asteraceae family, but different from that which gives coffee chicory “.

What dishes are there with endives? How to cook endives? How many questions about the endive!

Chicory salad

Endive salad is an excellent complement to a meal on its own or an excellent dessert. It’s up to you whether to eat it alone or in a meal and at what time of day to prepare and enjoy it.

Endive salad with honey and mustard vinaigrette

This sweet and tangy dressing goes well with bitter chicory, but feel free to use another solid green if desired.

Ingredients for 8 portions:

• 1 cup of pecans
• ¼ cup sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup whole grain mustard
• 2 spoons of honey
• 1 head of escarole, leaves separated and torn off
• 1 head of radicchio, leaves separated and torn off
• ¼ cup finely sliced ​​chives
• extra virgin olive oil (for dressing)
• kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Preparation :

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Toast the pecans on a baking sheet for about 7 minutes, until they brown slightly.
• Let cool, then mash or coarsely chop.
• Whisk the vinegar, mustard and honey in a large bowl. Add the escarole, chicory, chives and half the pecans.
• Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, and stir.
• Garnish the salad with the remaining pecans.

Roquefort salad, Walnuts and Endive

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 16 small heads of endive
• 1 Granny Smith apple
• 75 g of Roquefort cheese
• 100 g of chopped walnuts
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

For the seasoning:

• Dijon mustard (1 tablespoon)
• white wine vinegar (1 tablespoon)
• water (2 tablespoons)
• best quality walnut oil (2 tablespoons)
• extra virgin olive oil (2 tablespoons)
• sea ​​salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation :

• Cut off the base of the endive, then cut the heads of the greens in half lengthwise and set aside.
• Core the apple after cutting it in half, then cut it into thin cubes.
• Crumble the Roquefort on a plate and refrigerate while you prepare the vinaigrette.
• To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, and water, then add the walnut oil and olive oil, stirring constantly.
• Season to taste with 2 pinches salt and 2 pinches pepper.

Endive dish

Endives can be grilled, steamed, boiled, roasted, baked, etc. You can make mashed potatoes or endive dish.

Before cooking the endive, discard any discolored, cracked, soft, non-crunchy leaves or leaf parts. The dark green leaf tips taste very bitter and are also not eaten. Keep only the yellowish-white part which is crunchy but soft and of good taste.

To kill bacteria, wash the head of endive in a three to one ratio of water to vinegar. For best flavor, cut endive before cooking.

Roasted endives with bacon and thyme

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 4 large heads of white endive
• 6 slices of smoked bacon
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 12 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• 6 bay leaves

Cooking :

• Preheat the fan oven 180°C / static 200°C / gas 6.
• Cut the stems from the endive heads, discard the soft outer leaves, and quarter the greens lengthwise.
• Brush a shallow baking dish with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, then add the endives.
• Arrange the bay leaves and thyme sprigs among the endives, sprinkle the whole peeled garlic cloves on top.
• Drizzle with 2 more tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Cut the bacon into strips and sprinkle the endives on top, then return the pan, uncovered, to the oven for about 30 minutes until the bacon is crispy.

Serve fresh from the oven, with wholemeal bread.