ms.peachy
10-04-2004, 02:06 PM
Okay, I got this stuff called 'red chicory' a few days ago, because it looked interesting and it was on sale. In the US (or, for that matter, in France), it is the vegetable we'd call "endive" - not the same as the chicory stuff they use in the South with coffee (if you know wht I mean, you know what I mean.) If it helps, here is a link (http://www.foodsubs.com/Greensld.html) to a page on salad stuff with pictures.
Anyway - usually when you get this endive/chicory stuff, it's kinda pale green, but this was reddish, like raddicchio. And I noticed on the package it said 'good for use in salads or for braising'. And I thought, hmm, braising, I wonder how that would work. So I googled and found a recipe thaat looked easy and let me tell you, it turned out really great!
So here's what ya need:
6 heads of chicory/endive (you can use either the red or the green, apparently)
1 onion, finely chopped
juice of half a lemon
tablesoon of sugar
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
And here's what ya do:
Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan. (like a big frying pan)
Wash the heads of leaves and remove any wilty ones from the outside, but do not cut. Place the heads in the pan and cook, turning, so the outside all gets lightly cooked and the white bits start to go golden.
Lower the heat and put the chopped onions around on top of the heads. Drizzle lemon juice over. Sprinkle the sugar, salt and pepper over as well.
Cover and leave to simmer (make suer heat is quite low), 50 minutes, turning occasionally. As you turn them, the onion and sugar and such will move to the bottom of the pan and carmelize, so by the time it is done cooking you won't really have onions any more, just more of a savoury glaze. The sugar helps to balance the natural bitterness of the chicory/endive.
And that is pretty much it. I served it with ricotta & spinach tortellini with tomato basil sauce. It was yum.
Anyway - usually when you get this endive/chicory stuff, it's kinda pale green, but this was reddish, like raddicchio. And I noticed on the package it said 'good for use in salads or for braising'. And I thought, hmm, braising, I wonder how that would work. So I googled and found a recipe thaat looked easy and let me tell you, it turned out really great!
So here's what ya need:
6 heads of chicory/endive (you can use either the red or the green, apparently)
1 onion, finely chopped
juice of half a lemon
tablesoon of sugar
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
And here's what ya do:
Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan. (like a big frying pan)
Wash the heads of leaves and remove any wilty ones from the outside, but do not cut. Place the heads in the pan and cook, turning, so the outside all gets lightly cooked and the white bits start to go golden.
Lower the heat and put the chopped onions around on top of the heads. Drizzle lemon juice over. Sprinkle the sugar, salt and pepper over as well.
Cover and leave to simmer (make suer heat is quite low), 50 minutes, turning occasionally. As you turn them, the onion and sugar and such will move to the bottom of the pan and carmelize, so by the time it is done cooking you won't really have onions any more, just more of a savoury glaze. The sugar helps to balance the natural bitterness of the chicory/endive.
And that is pretty much it. I served it with ricotta & spinach tortellini with tomato basil sauce. It was yum.