The French love endives and traditionally eat them in salads (the grand classic is with walnuts and Roquefort cheese) or braised in butter. This slightly bitter, winter vegetable, is known as escarole or Belgian endive in the US, chicory in Britain and as endive in France. The most widely eaten endive is pale green with an oval shaped and tight broad leaves, but similar vegetables in the same family can have red leaves or loose curly leaves. The common feature to all is an agreeable bitter taste, most of which is concentrated in the stem. If you would like a milder flavor, simply hollowing out and discard the inner core of the stem with the tip of a knife.
In this recipe braised endives are dressed up with bold flavors and can be served on their own as a starter or a side dish as an accompaniment to roasted meat and poultry. Ricotta salata is fresh ricotta that has been press, salted and dried; it is slightly moist and crumbly. It makes a nice contrast to the bittersweet endives braised in orange juice and the pine nuts offer a nutty crunch.
Braised Endives with Orange Juice, Pine Nuts and Ricotta Salata
Ingredients
- Serves 4
- 6 endives, stem hollowed out, cut in half from tip to stem
- 40 g (3 tablespoons of butter)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Several branches fresh thyme
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, plus zests
- 4 branches of fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon of pine nuts
- ¼ ounce Ricotta Salata, shaved or crumbled
Instructions
- Season the endives with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the sugar over the melted butter and place the endives, cut side down on top. (If the endives won’t fit in one skillet, use two and divided the rest of the ingredients between them.)
- Pour the orange juice into the pan, add the thyme, reduce the heat and cover the vegetables with a round of parchment paper with a small hole cut out of the center. (The paper helps the vegetables cook evenly and at the same time allows the moisture to evaporate.) Cook for 10 minutes, as the orange juice reduces check the vegetables for tenderness and make sure they are not getting too brown. If necessary add a tablespoon or more of water. Toss in the pine nuts and orange zest and continue cooking until the orange juice is a thick shiny syrup and the endives are tender and lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes in all.
- Transfer the endives and pine nuts to a plate. Top with the ricotta salata and serve.
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