Belgian Endive (or Chicory or Witloof) used to be a fairly bitter vegetable. There were two ways of solving this: cook it for a long time in salted water and/or remove the solid part from the stem. Today’s Belgian Endive is not that bitter, so you can happily enjoy all of it and forget about cooking it.
A traditional way of preparing Belgian Endive is to blanch it in boiling water, drain, then wrap the endive in ham, cover it with a béchamel sauce with cheese (sauce mornay) and chapelure. Transfer the dish to the oven until golden. It’s a nice way of preparing Belgian Endive when you want to take a trip down memory lane.
Another option is to slice it and make a salad, preferably the one created by Antonio Carluccio. His salad with truffle and truffle oil is brilliant.
A much better idea is to caramelise Belgian Endive in a hot skillet. Adding lemon juice will enhance the bitterness of the Belgian Endive and add acidity. And if you bought the right kind of lemon, you will also have a floral touch because of the bergamot.
Enjoy the caramelised Belgian Endive with lamb or pork chops.
Wine Pairing
A simple full-bodied red wine will work very well with the Belgian Endive. Make sure it’s not too subtle!
What You Need
- Belgian Endive
- Olive Oil
- (optional) Butter
- Lemon
What You Do
- Clean the Belgian Endive by removing the outer leaves and cut in half (top down)
- No need to remove the centre core
- Heat a skillet
- Add olive oil
- Place the Belgian Endive in the pan, flat side down
- Keep on medium heat for some 10 minutes until caramelised, so really dark brown
- Turn the Belgian Endive and continue for another 5 to 10 minutes
- Optional: reduce heat and add some butter
- When you’re happy with the result, add fresh lemon juice to taste
- Leave in the pan for a few seconds
- Stir and check the taste
- Serve on a hot plate
PS
If you feel inspired by this recipe, then search for Witloof from Belgium by Liesbeth Hobert and Felix Alen. Over 150 pages with suggestions how to prepare Witloof. Pity it’s in Dutch only, despite its title.
Cook and Drink 
Love endives both raw and cooked
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Same here! 🙂
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I love the bitterness of the bitter vegetables! We often grill or roast the endive though because it does make it sweeter for some.
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The bitterness is an ‘acquired taste’, one we love!
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The Caramelized Belgian Endive sounds delicious. As someone interested in old-time foods and recipes, I found it interesting that modern Belgian endive is less bitter than what it once was. The taste of other vegetables has also changed across the years – for example, Brussels’ sprouts also are now less bitter. I know that since the earliest days, farmers (and later researchers) sought to use the “best” seeds, and that crops evolve across time. Part of me is glad that vegetables are tastier and easier to prepare than what they once were, while another part of me wants to try to find some heirloom seeds to see what they once tasted like.
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Thanks Sheryl! In her series of cooking shows Dutch chef Yvette van Boven visited Wim Bijma, a farmer specialised in growing (forgotten) vegetables and herbs. He specialises in using heirloom seeds allowing him to grow vegetables as they once tasted. Their shared passion for flavour inspired us to pay much more attention to buying vegetables. Good luck finding bitter Brussels sprouts!
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