Endive Salad

Ingredients

• 6-9 heads Belgium endive

• 2oz feta cheese crumbles

• 2 tangerines

• 2oz toasted chopped almonds

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil

• Pinch of salt

Stop right there.

Before dismissing this post because of the title, allow me to make my case. Endives are like people: when lonely and lacking variety, we can be overwhelmingly bitter, but, place us in an environment of diversity and flavor, and suddenly magic happens (and as we all remember from my last post, magic is the most important ingredient in all recipes).

The key to unleashing the potential of endives is to curb their bitterness with salty, sweet, sour, and umami flavors. In the recipe below, I use tangerines, almonds, feta, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar, but this could be easily change them out for oranges, pistachios, parmesan, avocado oil, and lemon juice. The options are truly endless for an endive salad, as long as those four flavor profiles are included.

Directions

Step 1: Cut and Separate

Cut bottoms off of the endives. Separate the leaves into large mixing bowl. Also, use this time to peel and separate the tangerines into segments.

Step 2: Dress

Gently toss the separated leaves in vinegar. Add a pinch of salt and a dribble of olive oil, then toss again quickly.

Step 3: Layer

For the best, restaurant-look plating, build height with the salad by stacking the leaves on top of each other—one at a time. Next, slip the tangerines and almonds into the empty space, trying to make it appear as if they just fell into the crevices. Finally, sprinkle the feta on top.

The only thing left to do is (en)dive right in!

Until next time,

Chef Josh Charles