dive into endive

If you love bitter greens, as I do, you will love this curly endive: Green Curled, from Vancouver Island Seed Co.http://vancouverseed.com/visc.html it is ridiculously easy to grow, so plant a whole row, and eat them while still quite small. (Unless you really love them super bitter!~) I make a salad with a bit of blue cheese crumbled on top, but you can also try these ideas: Due to its bitterness, curly endive is more enjoyable drizzled with tangy vinaigrettes. Olive oil suits perfectly, but you can also opt for walnut oil. For your vinegar, choose cider, raspberry or white or red wine vinegar. You may also replace it by lemon juice. Do not hesitate to add spices such as cinnamon, thyme or oregano to your dressing. You may wish to make your salad a little exotic by tossing your curly endive in an oriental vinaigrette made of sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar. (this one from vegpro.com ) Make a nest of curly endive on each plate. Place a thick slice of goat cheese (chèvre) on top; drizzle with a mixture of olive oil, walnut oil and lemon juice; garnish with walnut halves and halved seedless grapes.

Steamed curly endive Steam the endive for about 8 minutes with some apple wedges. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice; season with fine sea salt and cinnamon.

It's good for you, too: In addition to being an excellent source of vitamin K, curly endive is also a source of folate and manganese. In the area where I live, it's easy to grow endive most of the year round.