The not so bitter endive

Endive descends from wild chicory (cichorium intybus) and as all salads, is a medicinal herb. A 100 g will fill 20% of our daily selenium need. Its culture, notably the blanching process is described as early as 1600 in Olivier de Serres’ Agricultural Theater. It is in 1850 in the Brussels Botanical Garden that the first modern endive is produced, forever associating it with Belgium cuisine. It is a versatile plant: it can be used whole, sliced or, one leaf at a time. It can be consumed raw, dressed in oil and vinegar or cooked. In the first stage, it is a mild and crunchy herb. In the second some precaution must be taken to insure that it is not too bitter, UNLESS the cook wants to use the bitterness to her advantage. Our taste being conditioned by the five receptors in our tongue - sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami or savory – it is important to identify where each meal component stands to better build a complex savor. The braised endive recipe could be a perfect companion to a caramelized duck magret or to a Vietnamese slightly sweet fish. In general endive benefits from the slight addition of sugar whether in its pure (cane) form or fruit (fructose). As a result, to remove unpleasant bitterness in the endive and ham gratin recipe, I advise blanching the endive in water to which a tablespoon of sugar is added. The boat shape of its leaves inspires us to use it instead of bread for a calorie-less appetizer. Consider the following list as the beginning of your own repertoire.
All other recipes serve 4

Endive appetizer*
(Easy, Preparation time: 10 minutes, Reasonable)
Ingredients:
4 endives
¼ pound (113 g) smoked salmon
1 lemon
½ cup (118 ml) crème fraîche
¼ pound (113 g) salmon eggs
1 tablespoon chives
Material:
Paring knife and board

Fill the sink with cold water, plunge the endives in the sink.
Remove the endives, cut the bottom tip and separate the leaves. Dry them.
Lay them on to a tray.
Mix the crème with the chives.
Wash and slice finely the lemon. Cut each slice in 8.
Spoon the crème mixture in the center of each leave. Add either a salmon piece or a spoonful of salmon eggs. Top with an eighth of lemon slice.
Serve immediately with a dry white wine.
*Other endive topping suggestions:
A mixture of blue cheese and butter crowned by a quarter slice of apple
Tuna tartare crowned by an eighth of a slice of lemon
A mixture of crabmeat and avocado
Etc…

Endive Salad
(Easy, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cheap0
Ingredients:
3 endives
2 oranges
The juice of a lemon
10 walnuts cracked
5 tablespoon walnut oil
1 tablespoon chive
Salt and pepper
Material:
Paring knife and board
Grapefruit spoon
Salad bowl

Halve the oranges and, with the grapefruit spoon, remove and place carefully in the salad bowl the orange segments. Add the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the cracked walnuts cut in 4 pieces.
Remove the outside leaves of the endives if needed. Wash and dry the endives and slice them thinly. Mix them to the content of the salad bowl. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Endive and ham gratin
(Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 50 minutes, cheap)
Ingredients:
4 endives
1 tablespoon of sugar
4 ham slices
1 cup (225 ml) béchamel
½ cup (118 g) parmesan cheese grated
Material:
1 4-quart pan
1 set of tongues
1 strainer
1 ovenproof dish

Preheat the oven at 380F (195C).
Plunge the endives in a sink full of water. Cut a thin slice off the bottom, and keep each endive whole.
Set enough water to cover the endives and the tablespoon of sugar in a pan to boil. When the water boils, blanch the endives for 10 minutes.
Remove with a set of tongues and place in the strainer to drain.
Heat the cup of béchamel. Add the Parmesan cheese to melt.
Roll a slice of ham around each endive and place the 4 rolls in the ovenproof dish. Pour the béchamel on top and cook for 30 to 40 minutes.
Serve hot.

Braised endives
(Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 70 minutes, Cheap)
Ingredients:
4 endives
1 lemon
2 onions
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Material:
Saucepan and cover
Wash the endives and leave them whole.
Peel and slice the onions.
Oil the saucepan and layer the onion slices first and then the endives.
Cover the saucepan and place on the lower setting of the gas range for 30 minutes.
Add the lemon juice and the sugar and cook for another 30 minutes, turning them every ten minutes.