THIS is an endive...made into a floral arrangement.
THIS is an endive when you put it in a beef slider:
and THIS is a candied endive!:
This still doesn't exactly tell you what an endive IS! So I will pass along the knowledge gained at the ENDIVE GALA held last week at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.
The ENDIVE is a white, cone-shaped vegetable, relatively new to North American markets. There are only a few farmers in Canada that grow them, and only one supplier for Western Canada!
It's other names are Witloof Chicory, or White Gold; it has broad leaves and yellow tinged edges, it is tangy, bittersweet and generally grouped with lettuce and radicchio.
The official story behind it's origin is that it was accidentally discovered in 1830 by a Belgian farmer named Jan Lammers, in his cellar after leaving a few chicory roots to dry - which later on sprouted leaves!
The Endive Gala was a great success and I will be making something out of the ones I received and will maybe do another post on that!
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All images Copyright Christine McAvoy
