The Intrigue of Endive
Endive is delicious! I see endive or chicory in the store a lot and in the past I would pass right by it. You know, the white elongated bulb looking things that you don’t know what to do with? Sure we have all seen on the food TV where they use the leaves as scoops to hold a variety of scoopable party foods, but it isn’t exactly main meal stuff, or even side dish stuff. I am guessing it is partly because, somewhere along the line, we have forgotten that produce like endive, romaine and other leafy goodness (lettuces, too) can be braised. We have to think beyond the salad bowl and see a bigger picture for these lovely leaves. Braising leafy produce is classic and a great path to WOW moments. Perhaps you have heard of the classic Choisy Garniture where Boston or romaine lettuce is braised or simmered in chicken stock with a little bacon, onion and carrot. A delicious and simple side dish!
So What To Do with Endive?
You can certainly braised it, too. With a bit of ham and a cheese sauce it can be taken to the next level!
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 3 tbsp Flour
- 3 cups milk
- ¼ pound whole mushrooms, quartered.
- 2 ½ cups gruyere, divided
- salt and pepper
- 6 endive, cleaned and trimmed
- 3 cups vegetable stock or water
- 6-12 slices of black forest ham or your favorite ham
- In a sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat. When it stops foaming add the flour and whisk thoroughly.
- In another sauce pan warm the milk to a simmer and remove from heat.
- Whisk the flour and butter until it is golden and sandy looking. Slowly add the milk to the butter and flour whisking constantly.
- Slowly bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. The béchamel will thicken. Add mushrooms and continue cooking another 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Whisk in 2 cups of cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
- Set aside
- Place the endive in a saute pan and pour in enough stock or water to cover the endive by 3 quarters.
- Bring the stock to a simmer and simmer endive for 15-20 minutes or until the endive yield to a knife.
- Remove the endive from the braising liquid and drain them well. Let cool.
- When cool, wrap each endive in in 1 or 2 slices of ham.
- Place the wrapped endive in a 9×9 baking pan.
- Cover with cheese sauce and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.
- Top with the remaining cheese, turn on the broiler and broil until the cheese is brown.
- Serve hot!
There is a lot you can do here to bring this dish to the next level. Changing the types of ham and using any number of different cheeses can bring new experiences to this dish – Spanish ham and manchego for a Spanish touch? The braised endive could be wrapped in pasta sheets and the béchamel could be changed to a tomato sauce. What about wrapping it in Sausage, breading it and baking – a play on the Scotch egg?
Of course, there is a ton of other stuff you can do with chicory, too! Don’t forget to grill it!
Keep Innovating!
How do you prepare your chicory? Have you braised or grilled it before? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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