A Study of Belgian Endive
Human hands must intercede to coax this noble lettuce into existence.
I really like Belgian Endive. I don't think I ate it as a kid. In fact, I don't remember eating much of any kind of lettuce as a kid other than Iceberg. I'm not sure when the first time was that I tried Belgian Endive, but like much of my culinary experiences, it probably was in one of the several restaurants that I worked in or supervised.
Belgian Endive used to be something of an exotic lettuce and I'm reasonably sure I saw little of it in neighborhood grocery stores until the '90s. Now, of course, it is generally readily available in my grocer's produce section. Still, it is an elegant vegetable, which is perhaps why at least two of the following recipes were created specifically for a New Year's Eve celebration dinner.
Belgian Endive, also known as French Endive and Witloof, or “white leaf,” is a leafy lettuce that looks like a thin cylinder of tight, pale green leaves. It is somewhat unusual in that it is not grown from seed or seedlings directly in the soil. Instead, it is cultivated by forcing a second growth from the cut roots of Chicory plants. Chicory is also known as Curly Endive, which is a different lettuce entirely.
Credit for development of the Belgian Endive is given to a Belgian botanist by the name of Jean Brézier, who developed the “Brussels Endive” from a Coffee Chicory root in 1846.
The process of growing Belgian Endive is labor-intensive as it involves several stages, which accounts for the relatively high expense of this noble lettuce.
A lot of people shun Belgian Endive because it has a reputation for bitterness. Frankly, that has never bothered me because I use the bitterness of the lettuce to offset the sweetness or savoriness of other flavors. Properly balanced, the bitterness works for the dish, not against it, which in essence is what the creative culinary arts are all about.
Belgian Endive's versatility is unparalleled in the lettuce world. Excellent in a salad, it stands up and marries well with other bold flavors like Roquefort Cheese, Walnuts, Pears and Balsamic Vinegar. It can be braised or baked like a vegetable, and grilled like a steak. It can be used as a substitute for crackers and toast points to deliver all manner of appetizers and spreads.
One thing to consider in the preparation of Belgian Endive is that the leaves will oxidize and turn slightly brown very quickly after having been removed from the root stem. While this will not impair the taste, it does make the leaves take on an unappetizing appearance. It is therefore best to get the leaves into a cold water bath of the juice of 1/2 lemon and 2-3 cups of very cold water before proceeding with the preparation of the dish. Otherwise, if you are using the Endive in a salad, get some lemon juice or the dressing on the leaves pretty quickly after separating them. The oil in a vinaigrette will also prevent the air from oxidizing the greens.
Some of the recipes below were created along with salad dressings that are already posted in Kitchen Tapestry’s Salad Dressing Repository, but are given here as the entire recipe, not merely the dressing.
As I have come to love this delicious and complex lettuce, I have created or collected several Belgian Endive recipes, and so decided to post them in a single entry of Kitchen Tapestry.
