For ➍4 endives
(1 tbs sugar)*
1 tbs olive oil
butter
sherry (or white balsamico) vinegar
Cut the endives into thick pieces. Cut the bottom part.
Heat a large pan. Heat some butter. Add the olive oil.
Put the endives in the pan. Brown each side for 4 m. Do not stir to prevent water coming out.
(Add a little sugar to beat the bitterness, caramelizing the endives to preserve taste.)* Add a dash of sherry vinegar.
Put a lid on the pan** and simmer for 5 m.
*Optional.
**Cover the endives with a silicone round for a better result.
'Witloof' (or 'witlof'), 'white leaves', is the result of a special technique for growing endives, accidentally discovered in 1830 in the Josaphat valley in Schaerbeek, near Brussels, Belgium. According to the legend, a farmer covered endives with soil, fearing theft during the 1830 Belgian revolution for independence. Witloof remains covered during growing, keeping the a sparkling white, hence the name, meaning white leaves. Normally, the leaves turn green and even a purplish blue, quite fashionable today. Real witloof is cultivated in soil, preferably a silt soil. In Belgium it is called leem, consisting of sand, clay, silt and minerals, and can be found in a particularly fecund variety in the area, North of Brussels. Witloof can also be produced, at a lower cost, and with inferior taste, in hydroculture.
Read the braising endives without water tip.
Read the cooking endives @ microwave tip.
