Happy Endive Day!

So, endives are seriously interesting. They are part of the chicory family and what we commonly think of as endives are Belgian endives. According to California Endive (which appears to be a shill for a specific endive producer in California) a Belgian, Jan Lammers (not the famous race car driver) stored some chicory roots in his cellar in 1830. He forgot about them for a few months and when he looked at them again, they had sprouted (in the dark, damp cellar) the leaves we currently associate with endive. When the chicory root is grown in the ground under full sun, the leaves look like this. So, modern production of Belgian endives go like this: the seed is planted in a field and allowed to grow a large chicory root and curly leaves. The leaves are mowed and the root is dug up. The root is transplanted in a dark, damp growing room and endives are then harvested.

The salad I made today is via Bon Appetit and was delicious!

Endive and Walnut Salad 

1/2 walnuts

1 cup torn bread

4 anchovy fillets, diced

1 clove of garlic, diced

2 tbs red wine vinegar

1/4 cup Taleggio cheese, chopped

1/4 cup of Parmesan, shaved

3 Belgian endives

1 tsp orange zest

2 tbs fresh orange juice

1 tbs white wine vinegar

First, roast the walnuts in the oven at 350 for 8 minutes. Reserve the nuts. Then, toss the bread crumbs in two tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread them on a pan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, tossing once. Reserve.

Next, make the red wine vinaigrette. Add the anchovy, red wine, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, dash of salt and pepper to a small bowl and whisk.

Next, slice the endives in half and separate the leaves. Place in a medium bowl and toss with the white wine vinegar and the orange juice. Sprinkle the orange zest over.

Add the walnuts, breadcrumbs, taleggio and Parmesan to the red wine sauce. Toss and spread on a plate. Top with the endives and enjoy!