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.
470 K 3.6/5 (250 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: February 14th 2012
For 4 endives, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
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
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
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
Put endives in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes...

Stage 4 - 5 min.
How to prepare endives
... 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
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 Change to a man
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
Soft fruits in sabayon
Soft fruits in sabayon
This recipe is made by briefly cooking an assortment of soft fruits (raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries, currants...) with a little sugar to glaze them. They are served in a small dish, covered with a delicious sabayon which can be lightly "burned" on surface.
February 21th 2011270 K3.9 50 min.
How to succeed in making sabayon (syllabub)
How to succeed in making sabayon (syllabub)
A sabayon is a delicious and delicate preparation based on egg yolks and sugar, with a liquid added (wine, alcohol, fruit juice, etc), which is then whipped in a bain-marie until it is both light and smooth. Usually sabayon is sweet (syllabub), but you can make it savoury, in which case there is...
November 12th 2017941 K 54 20 min.
Fruit coulis (fruit purée)
Fruit coulis (fruit purée)
Contrary to what people usually think, coulis is not just a simple fruit purée with sugar. Of course, this is the general principle, but it's possible to make something much better and more refined. This recipe is for a strawberry coulis (see below for other fruits): how to make it, but also how...
October 20th 2012782 K 43 25 min.
Natural leaven
Natural leaven
Leaven is a natural raising agent, a fermented mixture of water, flour and the microscopic yeasts which are present in the air. It's a delicate living substance, sensitive to the external environment. The recipe is around 4000 years old and dates back to the Egypt of the Pharaohs, via a beautiful...
April 3rd 20201.71 M 304.0 7 days 15 min.
How to prepare spinach
How to prepare spinach
For most people (and me most of all), spinach brings back bad memories of canteens... But, well prepared, it's a fine and delicate vegetable which goes remarkably well with scrambled eggs, fish, and many another things. Here are two ways of preparing it.
June 5th 20153.39 M3.5 1 hour 9 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-13)

*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 10 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