This time of year the markets are full of endive.
Apparently the French eat them in huge quantities. One can get a pre-packaged bag with a dozen endive in it and I see shopping trolleys with three or four bags.
We like them….
But that’s a lot of endive.
I went through my French cook books thinking there would be a lot of recipes for endive.
There weren’t.
The recipes that I found were mostly for 8 or 10 or 12 endive braised in butter or wine in the oven for an hour or two.
And, of course, for this classic with ham and cheese.
Perfectly simple; perfectly delicious.
Braised Endive with Prosciutto and Gruyère
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 Belgian endive
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 4 paper-thin slices dry-cured ham such as Prosciutto, Bayonne
- 2oz (60gr) Gruyère
Instructions:
- Remove 2 or 3 outer leaves from endive. Rinse endive lightly. Cut each in half the long way. Remove the hard core from the stem end by cutting out a V-shaped wedge.
- Lay endive flat, cut side up, in a large skillet. Add stock, cover and braise for 20 minutes.
- Remove endive carefully, drain and lay on a plate.
- Carefully wrap 1 slice of ham around each endive half and lay in a baking dish.
- Top with sliced Gruyère.
- Bake, 375F (190C) for 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.
- Remove and serve.
It’s almost a room!
At least that was what mon mari said when I went in to take the photos today.
When I took this the walls looked finished and nicely white.
Then I uploaded the photos and I could see all the variations in the plaster…. Various stages of dryness I presume.
Those walls will be painted soon.
The sheet rocked walls, below, will be wall-papered soon.
Then the door can be re-hung and he can start on the floor.
It’s almost a room!
Look what came for me today!
I’m so excited.
These are the final proof copies for my books, Healthy Small Plates.
I did the print version through CreateSpace, like Kindle, also part of Amazon.
I will freely admit that doing the print version was much, much more difficult than doing the Kindle version.
I think I’m just going to sit here and look at them for a bit……
When they’re available and I get all the links sorted out I’ll let you know.
Your book looks delightful. Can hardly wait to order one. Endives – I love them, but they are so expensive here. Braised is my favorite way with them. Yours look absolutely delicious. I am so excited. We are coming back to France this summer. But this time we are on a motorcycle tour. Our French friends will be guiding us through Loire, up to Normandy and Brittany and then down through the Perigord and down to Avignon. We will spend a few days in Paris, before or after. Love the update on your house. Looks great.
I do see endive sometimes in shops here but rarely hear of anyone actually eating it unless it is curly endive. It is more often the variety you see and found in salads.
Endive is something I have not yet tried…the recipe looks great, and I love those beams!
We hardly ever see endive here (or perhaps I just don’t notice it). But you are reminding me of a recipe I’ve had bookmarked for eons, Laura Calder’s endive with beets, goat’s cheese and walnuts (www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Salad/Nuts/recipe.html?dishid=8359).
And now your endive with prociutto and gruyere is bookmarked too. Remind me to look for endive!
Congratulations on the proofs! Well done! They look lovely. I particularly like the “mostly” after the “healthy”. It makes eating healthily seem so much more realistic.
Penny, You’ll be going right by us – stop in for an apero!!!! Funny how what’s expensive for you is cheap for us – and vice versa!
manningroad, I’m not even sure if we have ‘curly endive’ I’ll have to Google it LOL. Very popular here.
Ina, next I’m going to try it as a proper vegetable! Thanks….
Elizabeth, I get red endive for something similar with red beets and goat cheese. Goat cheese and beets are made for each other! (And thanks…. that’s what I thought)