Nosh: Weekend Herb Blogging #101: Endive

Weekend Herb Blogging #101: Endive

Or at least I call it endive ... you may call it chicory, depending upon where you're from. Regardless, Belgian endive is a versatile vegetable that is delicious grilled, in soups, or raw in a salad. It is rather expensive in the market, but pretty easy to grow at home. There are a few methods you can choose from, all of which can be found on the internet.

Since the winters have been warmer here in Munich, I've used the easy "under a box" technique. To quote Sunset magazine:

"Instead of the traditional labor-intensive digging and forcing indoors, simply cut back mature plants, then cover the remaining stems with a light-excluding box. The new leaves that grow under the cover are blanched and perfectly succulent."

Tender, home-grown Belgian endive is perfect for salads and sandwiches. It's only slightly bitter as opposed to store bought endive, which can be (but is not always) bitter and rather tough. One of my favorite salads is a mixture of endive with peppery shoots of arugula (rocket), thin slices of tart apple, whole or sliced almonds, topped with fresh goat's cheese.

That's one idea for endive. Now I'm going to tell you about a sandwich I came up with that involves a creamy, white bean spread with herbs and silky prosciutto. You might call it a "sexy" sandwich. Can I steal that title from Jamie's salad?

Sexy Belgian Endive Sandwich w/White Bean Spread and Prosciutto
Makes 1 sandwich

4-5 leaves of Belgian endive;
2 Tbsp canned white beans, rinsed and drained;
2 Tbsp quark or other low-fat cheese;
3 stalks fresh thyme, leaves stripped;
1 Tbsp freshly chopped parsely;
3 slices of prosciutto;
1 fresh-baked italian roll, sliced in half;
Extra-virgin olive oil;
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

In a small bowl, mash together the quark and the white beans. Stir in the fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper. Spread this mixture onto half of the bread.
Tuck the endive leaves into the white bean mixture. Top with the prosciutto slices. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil onto the remaining half of bread and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.

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Hope all of you weekend herb bloggers had a great weekend, and thanks to Myriam at the beautiful blog Once Upon A Tart for hosting!

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