Name: Endive (Cichorium endivia) — a leafy chicory relative with curly, frilly leaves (also called frisée) or broader, flatter leaves (escarole). It is not the same as Belgian endive, which is a different, chicory-based, pale, bullet-shaped vegetable. Escarole has its own page.
Description
Endive is thought to have originated in the eastern Mediterranean and was eaten in ancient Egypt and Rome. It is sold as curly endive, with a pale, bitter, feathery heart, and the dark outer leaves being tougher and more bitter.
Frisée is popular in French bistro salads, such as salade lyonnaise, with bacon and a poached egg, whose richness counters the bitterness. The pale, inner leaves are the tenderest and least bitter.
Main nutrition value
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Endive provides vitamin K, vitamin A, folate and fibre, with some prebiotic inulin, and is very low in calories.
How best to be consumed
Endive's bitterness is balanced by fat, sweetness or salt.
- Toss the pale inner leaves into salads, with bacon, a poached egg or a mustard vinaigrette.
- Pair with sweet ingredients such as pears, walnuts, blue cheese and citrus.
- Braise or sauté the tougher outer leaves, which mellows the bitterness.
- Add to soups, as in Italian escarole and bean soup.
- Soak in cold water to crisp and reduce bitterness.
Overconsumption could cause…
Endive is safe in food amounts.
- Possible effects on warfarin and similar blood-thinning medicines because of the high vitamin K content, so keep intake steady rather than avoiding them.
- Foodborne illness from poorly washed leaves, so rinse well, especially bagged and ready-to-eat salad.
- Bitterness that some people find unpleasant.
- Allergic reactions in people sensitive to ragweed or other daisy-family plants.
Wikipedia — Endive, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endive
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