Warm Endive Salad with Parmesan and Hazelnuts

One of the craziest things about food is how much the flavor can change just by heating something up. A couple of minutes in a pan can drastically alter the flavor and texture of an ingredient.

Endive happens to be one of those ingredients. It also happens to be one of those foods I hated as a child. Being the sick child that I was, I often had hives. One of those times happened to coincide with the first time I ever had endive, so I spent the next decade claiming I was allergic to it. I’m not. I probably just pet a cat. I’m not allergic to any foods.

I’m allergic to soap, but not foods.

But that is neither here nor there.

The bottom line is, endive is yummy. I know I just made it sound super appetizing with my story about hives, but the point is it is tasty hot or cold.

I’m going to stop talking now and show you the pictures. Maybe then I can convince you it’s worth making.

You will need…

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

4 large heads of Belgian endive, halved lengthwise

¼ cup dry white wine

¼ cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

8 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

Chopped toasted hazelnuts

Chopped fresh chives

Heat the olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add in the endive with the cut side down.

Add wine and broth and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn the endive over. Cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute longer.

Remove skillet from heat. Using tongs, lift endive from skillet draining liquid from each head back into the skillet. Transfer 2 halves, cut side up to each of 4 plates.

Add vinegar to skillet and cook over medium heat until sauce reduces slightly. About 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper and spoon over endive. Sprinkle leach salad with 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese then hazelnuts and chives.

Please ignore the first part of this post about hives and focus on the pretty pictures. Really pretty pictures.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela