If you’re not familiar with Endive, you are in for a treat. You can use it very similarly to lettuce, so long as you remember it has a bitter edge. The yellow or red leaves are mellower when baked, grilled, or sauteed. Shaped like a canoe, you can stuff them! However, this recipe uses them raw for a crispy spin on a green salad.
Shopping for Endive
Look for heads with snug leaves. The vegetables should be heavier than expected and firm. The best endive has a white base and no brown spots. Store them in your refrigerator in a drawer away from the inside light. Should a few of the external leaves turn brown or soft while in storage, just remove them and use the rest.
Endive Feta Toss
If you’re not familiar with Endive, you are in for a treat. You can use it very similarly to lettuce, so long as you remember it has a bitter edge. The yellow or red leaves are mellower when baked, grilled, or sauteed. Shaped like a canoe, you can stuff them! However, this recipe uses them raw for a crispy spin on a green salad.Shopping for EndiveLook for heads with snug leaves. The vegetables should be heavier than expected and firm. The best endive has a white base and no brown spots. Store them in your refrigerator in a drawer away from the inside light. Should a few of the external leaves turn brown or soft while in storage, just remove them and use the rest.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup whole feta
- 1 tbsp orange flower honey
- 1 tsp orange flower water
- 3 endives
- 1 pink grapefruit
- 1 large seedless orange
- ¼ c pomegranate seeds
- ⅓ c sunflower seeds
- ¼ c fresh (chopped basil)
- 1 tbsp chopped green onion
- ¼ c Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to 350F
- Get a sheet of aluminum foil and place the feta in the middle (You need enough for wrapping the cheese)
- Top the feta with honey and orange water
- Close the aluminum foil tightly and grill for 15 minutes
- Cut the base off the endives
- Pull off all the leaves until you reach the tight center (set those aside)
- Peel and cut up the grapefruit and oranges into bite-size pieces
- Chop the endive centers, adding it to the sunflower seeds, basil, green onion, salt and pepper
- Add the olive oil and toss **
- Unwrap the feta and set it in the middle of a serving tray
- Surround the cheese with single endive leaves so it looks like an open flower
- Spread the grapefruit, orange, and pomegranate seeds evenly over the endive
- Add the dressing, pouring from above.
- Serve with a knife or spoon in the cheese so people can pick up a bit with each leaf (think of the leaves as scoops)
Notes
For a sweet vinaigrette, try adding a tbsp of White Balsamic or Rice Wine Vinegar to this mix.