Chicory, Endive, Escarole and Radicchio

[This is a re-print of a flier we worked up for distribution at farmer's market.]

These bitter, lettuce-like vegetables are delicacies to Europeans but an acquired taste to most Americans, us included. As we went about acquiring that taste, we found the following recipes very helpful.


Chicory with Bacon and Maple Balasamic Dressing
This is an excellent, quick, simple, savory, sweet, tangy, bitter, warm salad. The bacon fat drizzle serves to wilt the chicory slightly, bringing out some of it's latent sweetness. It would also be great with a tangy cheese such as chevre or a good blue.

1 head chicory
4 slices, nitrare-free bacon
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t Maine maple syrup
3-4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T minced fresh herbs, such as Basil (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the bacon into 1/2" pieces and cook over low heat until the fat has released and the pieces are just becoming crisp. Meanwhile, rinse and dry the chicory thoroughly, then chop it into 1/2" by 2" strips. Whisk together (or combine in a jar and shake violently) the remaining ingredients to prepare the dressing. When the bacon is ready, place the chicory into a roomy bowl, sprinkle with the bacon bits, then drizzle a generous amount of still very hot bacon fat over the greens. Finally, pour the dressing over everything and serve.


Roasted Radicchio with Gorgonzola and Balsamic Vinegar

1 head radicchio
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar
4-6 oz Gorgonzola, sliced or chunked

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the radicchio into large wedges, about 2" wide. Brush generously with olive oil and place in a baking dish in single layer. Place dish in oven and bake for 20 minutes, turning wedges over midway through. Remove from oven, drizzle with vinegar, top with cheese and return it to the oven until the cheese melts, about 5 mintues.


Steamed Chicories with Pine Nuts and Raisins
This also works very well with other dried fruit & nut combinations: cranberries and almonds or apricots and pecans.

3 T raisins
1 lb chicories
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
3 T pine nuts
salt and pepper

Soak raisins in boiling water; drain when plump. With a steamer basket, steam chicory just until wilted (2-4 minutes). Heat the oil in a large pan and saute garlic and pine nuts until pine nuts begin to brown (3 minutes). Coarsely chop the wilted greens and add to the pan, stirring to coat with oil. Remove from heat, stir in raisins and season with salt and pepper.

Farm Share Info for July 22

Sorry this is coming in so late -- we topped off another long farm day by cutting some wood to build a shed for Kendra's new wood fired oven and after that we made our first pickles of the season (using the last of the year's garlic scapes and snap peas).

All shares contain:

• "Rainbow" beets
• Endive
• Zucchini and/or Summer Squash
• Celery (a small bunch)
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• more "Rainbow" beets
• a bunch of marjoram and parsley
• Chicory
• shell peas
  

Veggie Notes

beets - As I mentioned last week, remember that the leaves of beets (aka `beet greens') can be eaten like Swiss chard and that the color of the red beets will tend to bleed into the rest of the beets of they're cooked together. If the beets taste bitter, peeling off the skins can rid them of the bitterness.

endive and chicory - Endive has the finely toothed, feathery leaves while the chicory will look more like a head of romaine lettuce. There are many, many kinds of "chicory", but the one you're getting this week is called "Pan de Zucchero", or "Sugar Loaf". Less bitter than most chicories, it's natural sweetness really comes out when it's roasted. See the next post for some more recipes involving chicory.

celery - Baby celery, though not really that useful for the peanut butter and raisin treatment, is still a great seasoning. Just chop it up (leaves and all) an add to any recipe that calls for celery.

Recipe Ideas

Simple Squash Saute
For a long time, we tried to figure out what to do with all of the squash that piled up during the summer. Then we found this recipe and now we have a hard time keeping enough squash around! It's very flexible: use more or less squash, omit the herbs and/or garlic, etc.

2 6” squashes
1 medium onion
½ bunch fresh thyme, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
3-4 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more to taste
salt and pepper

Remove stems from squashes and chop into ¼” thick, round slices. Chop the onion (including the top, if it's a fresh onion) into ¼” by 1” pieces. Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pepper and onion and cook until the onion has softened, about 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Add the squash and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

Also, be sure to check out the next post for some recipes for chicory and endive. (The roasted radicchio recipes would also work really well with this week's chicory.)


As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!