Endive - Hors D'oeuvres

The weekend was as full of mishap as adventure. The adventure mainly consisted of deciding what to bring to my friend's housewarming party. Somehow I had endive on my mind. This was probably due to reading Eliot Coleman's "Four-Season Harvest." 

Endive (pronounced on-deeve), is a part of the daisy (Asteraceae) family and Chicory (Cichorium) genus. It is commonly used to refer to the leafy part of a variety of chicory plants.

The kind of endive I had in mind was the Belgian endive which is illustrated above as the white Californian endive and illustrated bigger below. It looks like an albino fist-sized head of lettuce or napa cabbage. It's said to be in season this time of year, so I thought I'd give it a shot. At $7.99/lb who am I kidding, nothing is in season in Minnesota this time of year!

Endive - History

The reason it's called Belgian endive is because it comes from a Belgian accident. In 1843, a Belgian gardener inadvertently left some chicory roots, which he was growing for use in coffee, in his moist, dark cellar. When he returned weeks later, he discovered leaves had spouted from the chicory roots in complete darkness. We know those leaves as Belgian endive.

Today, Belgian endive is no longer a basement accident. Belgian endive comes from chicory's second growth. Once chicory has matured and grown its tap root (a single main root like carrots and dandelions), the green growth above the root is cut off. The root is then covered up with soil and the second growth is allowed to grow in a sunless environment in the soil. It can also be grown without soil in complete darkness.

Since growing Belgian endive is extremely labor intensive, it is mainly grown on the west coast where there is a market for it and the weather is suitable for growing it all year long. The majority of Belgian endive in the United States is imported from France and Belgium.

Endive - Culinary

So, what can you do with Belgian endive? You can use it in salads, soups, etc. You can cook, braise, bake, boil, or steam it. Basically, it's a vegetable with a slightly bitter taste and crisp texture.

When I think of endives, I think fancy hors d'oeuvres. If you break apart the leaves, you can turn them over and use them as mini cups to hold any assortment of fillings. It's like the $8/lb pound version of what you see on the back of the Ritz Cracker box. Since I couldn't decide what kinds of fillings to make, my friend Eric and I made up four different kinds. The red one is a strawberry reduction with orange zest and balsamic vinegar over a bed of blue cheese crumbles; the white one is a mixture of a variety of cheeses and herbs; the green one is avocado, green onions, and shrimp seasoned with lime; the the last one is Eric's personal creation: steak dinner in a cup (steak on a bed of sauteed green peppers, onions, and mushrooms). 

It seemed like people enjoyed them at the housewarming. Next time you need to bring something and want to impress, give it a go!

Jack