How to prepare endives


How to prepare endives
A very classic recipe, but which can easily fail due to two main errors: too much water in bottom of dish because endives give off a lot, and endives that are too bitter so that children hate it.

Here is a method which avoids these two problems.
500 K 3.6/5 (253 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: February 14th 2012
For this recipe: Comment Send to a friend Ask me a question Follow Printable Diaporama
For 4 endives, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 20 min.
Resting: 5 min.
Cooking: 3 min.
All in all: 30 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - ⌛ 10 min.
How to prepare endives  : Stage 1
Trim a little from the base of 5 endives (head of chicory), remove and discard any untidy leaves, then wash endives.

Stage 2 - ⌛ 3 min.
How to prepare endives  : Stage 2
Boil a large pan of salted water.

With a small sharp knife, remove a small cone from the bottom and discard it. The cone size depends on endive size, usually about half an inch is fine.

This reduces the endive's bitter taste.

Note:If endive are medium or big size, think to cut them in two, from top to bottom, to reduce cooking and blenching time.

Stage 3 - ⌛ 3 min.
How to prepare endives  : Stage 3
Put endives in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes...

Stage 4 - ⌛ 5 min.
How to prepare endives  : Stage 4
... then remove them using a skimmer, put into very cold water.

You've just blanched endives, and we do that to reduce the bitterness still further.

Stage 5 - ⌛ 5 min.
How to prepare endives  : Stage 5
Leave endives in cold water for five minutes, then drain and dry them. The best way is to use a salad spinner, and then leave on a tea-towel.
Remarks
In this recipe I say "reduce bitterness" because we don't want to suppress it entirely: it's part of the endive taste, its character, that we should keep.
Keeping: Several days in the frifge, in a closed box.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe3 RDI=1 %10 RDI=1 %070 RDI=4 %290 RDI: 4 %
Per 100 g1 RDI=0 %4 RDI=0 %020 RDI=1 %80 RDI: 1 %
Per endives03 RDI=0 %020 RDI=1 %70 RDI: 1 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
How much will it cost?
  • For 4 endives : 0.45 €
  • Per endives : 0.15 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
Home-made terrine of foie gras
Home-made terrine of foie gras
Preparing your own home-made foie gras from raw is immensively satisfying: good quality liver and a simply amazing flavour – much better than anything you can buy. This recipe is a bit tricky, but quite within everyone's grasp, as long as you follow the 3 most delicate stages carefully. These are, in order: de-veining the liver, seasoning and cooking. As usual, I have explained every stage of the recipe in full, with photos to help you.
December 16th 20245.32 M 74.2 4 days 15 hours 50 min.
Coconut sweetcrust pastry
Coconut sweetcrust pastry
You might already be familiar with sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée) which contains a small amount of ground almonds. This is the coconut version, made with dessicated coconut, ideal for tarts with a more exotic flavour.
October 25th 202065 K1 15 min.
Finger biscuits
Finger biscuits
These small biscuits, that look a bit like savoy biscuits, are delicious alone or with Champagne, but are also the base for charlottes or Tiramisu.
July 30th 2021360 K5 50 min.
Sorrel soup
Sorrel soup
Smooth with a slight sharpness, this soup has a very particular taste.
May 8th 2011415 K3.8 1 hour 4 min.
Surprise bread
Surprise bread
This recipe is for a large surprise bread so you can make six layers (48 small sandwiches if you divide each layer in 8), with three different flavours: smoked salmon/lime, smoked ham/butter, mayonnaise/chicken.
December 27th 2020723 K 84.5 6 hours 25 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-02-08)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this recipe (as 11 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page