When it comes to dinner, we like to keep things simple. Simple usually means a slow cooker meal, grilling out when the weather permits, or otherwise only spending 30-ish minutes on meal preparation. And it’s good; we don’t go hungry and pretty much always enjoy what we’re eating.
But, every now and then, it’s nice to get a little fancy, whether it’s a date night in or a dinner party, this is where we really like to try new ingredients. Belgian endive is one of those things; it’s pretty delicious roasted in halves in the oven with just salt, pepper and olive oil, but for a real bang aesthetically, it makes the cutest little lettuce cups that you can serve all kinds of delicious mixtures in!
For this particular recipe, I kept with the simplicity we always enjoy letting the flavors and textures shine through. I made as easy Meyer lemon and pancetta vinaigrette to toss the apples in, but you could use any citrus you enjoy. Orange juice (fresh, mind you) would be great, lending some sweetness to the bitterness of the endive. As for pancetta, if you can’t find it near you then you could certainly use bacon – I see no good reason to not make that substitution – because bacon is, as we all know, heavenly.
Try this for an appetizer at your next dinner party, or for just an afternoon snack. I hope you enjoy making and eating it as much as we did!
When I was in France for New Year’s Eve (many years ago), endive boats featured prominently! Filled with all sorts of savoury cheeses and garnishes. So good! (And so fancy!) Now, whenever I see them, I get the urge to jump on a plane…
DROOOOOOL…that sounds like heaven!