Winter Citrus Salad With Belgian Endive Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between endive and Belgian endive? ›

Endives are a cool weather crop, best enjoyed in the fall and winter, and have a mildly bitter taste. Belgian endive has a small, oval, densely packed head. Curly endive is also called frisée. Both Belgian and curly endive work well raw in salads, but hold up to brief cooking.

Because of their sturdy texture and bitter flavor, endive leaves make up the base of salads. Their crunchiness allows them to be a great substitute for chips and they work well with thick dips like hummus. Common cooking methods for endive include searing, roasting, grilling, and braising.

While an endive's crispy, crunchy stalks may look a bit like lettuce, the vegetable is actually categorized separately as a naturally bitter, leafy perennial plant from the Cichorium (chicory) genus and Asteraceae family.

This leafy green can be a bit confusing because it goes by a number of names (depending on variety) including chicory, frisée (pronounced free-ZAY) and curly endive.

Endive, on the other hand, was a relatively recent discovery, thanks to a lucky accident. In 1830, a farmer named Jan Lammers in Brussels, Belgium, stored some chicory roots in his cellar because he was planning to dry and roast them for coffee (it was commonly used as an additive or coffee substitute).

Endives can be enjoyed both raw or cooked. When raw, endives are crisp and bitter, making them a great addition to salads. When cooked, endive's sharp flavor softens into a mellow, nutty sweetness.

Endive is exceptionally high in potassium, fiber, and folate—three valuable nutrients for heart health. Potassium is a well-established blood pressure lowering agent. 5 It counters the effects of high sodium in the blood with urination and helps release tension in the blood vessels.

Endive is all about the crunch, and as such it pairs well with other crunchy-juicy things, like in this endive-apples-celery salad. A much richer preparation involves bathing the endive in cream, ham, gruyere, then cooking until everything collapsed, bronzed, and bubbling.

It also contains intybin which is not only responsible for the bitter taste of the leaves but is also known to be an appetite stimulant and a digestive aid. When consumed in large amounts Belgian endive can also act as a diuretic and laxative.

Endive is an exotic plant available in several varieties that confers a wealth of essential nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin A, folate, and fibre. Adding this green vegetable promotes gut, liver, heart, and eye health and also strengthens bones, and sheds weight.

Can you eat Belgian endive raw? ›

Belgian endives are delicious sautéed, braised, or even grilled, but the simplest way to prepare them is to eat them raw. Due to their sturdy boat-shaped structure, they also make ideal vessels for dips and fillings. In order to eat Belgian endives, prepare them by chopping off the tip of the coarse butt.

Endive is rich in potassium. This is a mineral that plays an important role in the function of your nerves, muscle, kidney, and heart. Potassium can be found in many foods like fruits, vegetables, dairy, and seafood.

Different names are even given to the same species depending on how the plant is grown (more on this below), and in the case of the Belgian variety, called “endive” in the U.S. but botanically grouped as chicory.

It turns out that the process for growing the blanched, mild endive we've come to know as Belgian endive did originate in Belgium in the 19th century. Part of the large chicory family which includes radicchio, frisée (curly endive) and escarole, Belgian endive is high in folate, Vitamins A and K and fiber.

Belgian endive is often described as pleasantly bitter (more bitter than lettuce) and mildly nutty. The texture of Belgian endive is tender, velvety, watery or juicy, luxurious, and somewhat crisp, with a soft crunch and slight creaminess.

Belgian endive is very easy to clean and prepare. Simply remove a few of the exterior leaves, cut off the stem, and proceed as your recipe preparation directs. Chopped, it can be used in salads, or it can be braised whole or baked as a side dish.

Belgian endive becomes bitter when exposed to light. Curly endive and escarole are available year-round, with a peak season from June to October. Look for a fresh, crisp texture and avoid heads with discolorationn or insect damage.