Chicory

🥬🌿 Chicory (a.k.a. Belgian Endive)

Crisp, slightly bitter, and beautifully elegant — a gourmet green with bite! 🍽️✨

Chicory is a leafy vegetable known for its tight, pale yellow or white leaves, and its distinctively bitter, nutty flavour. Often used in salads or as edible “cups” for dips and fillings, chicory brings a crisp texture and sophisticated taste to your plate. 🌿💫

It comes in several varieties, including:

• Belgian Endive (white or pale yellow) 🥬

• Red Chicory (Radicchio) ❤️

• Frisée or Curly Endive 🌱

🌟 Product Overview:

• 🥗 Flavour: Mildly bitter, earthy, slightly nutty

• 🫗 Texture: Crisp and crunchy, especially in raw form

• 🌱 Nutrition: Low in calories, high in fibre, vitamin K, and antioxidants

• 🍽️ Uses: Raw in salads, grilled, braised, or used as edible boats for dips and toppings

• 🌍 Season: Most available in fall and winter, but can be found year-round in stores

✅ Why You’ll Love It:

• ✅ Adds complexity and crunch to salads 🥗

• ✅ Can be roasted or grilled to mellow its bitterness 🍽️

• ✅ Makes stunning appetizers when filled with cheese, nuts, or citrus 🧀🍊

• ✅ Supports digestion and gut health thanks to its natural inulin fibre 🧬

Great Pairings:

• Goat cheese, blue cheese, or brie 🧀

• Orange segments, pears, or apples 🍐🍊

• Walnuts, almonds, or pine nuts 🌰

• Balsamic glaze, honey-mustard vinaigrette, or citrus dressings 🍯

🧀🍐 Chicory Boats with Pear, Walnut & Blue Cheese

A crunchy, creamy, and slightly bitter-sweet bite — perfect for entertaining or indulging in a gourmet snack at home. 😋

Ingredients:

• 2 heads of chicory (Belgian endive), leaves separated 🥬

• 1 ripe pear, thinly sliced 🍐

• 50g blue cheese (or goat cheese, if preferred), crumbled 🧀

• A handful of walnuts, toasted and chopped 🌰

• Drizzle of honey or balsamic glaze 🍯

• Optional: fresh thyme or arugula for garnish 🌿

Instructions:

1. Carefully separate and rinse the chicory leaves. Pat them dry — they’ll act as little edible boats.

2. Arrange the leaves on a serving platter.

3. In each leaf, place a slice of pear, a crumble of blue cheese, and a few walnut pieces.

4. Drizzle with honey or balsamic glaze for sweetness and balance.

5. Garnish with thyme leaves or a few arugula strands if desired.

6. Serve chilled — and enjoy the flavour and texture contrast in every bite! 🧡

🌟 Flavour Profile:

• Bitter crunch from the chicory

• Sweet and juicy pear

• Creamy, salty tang from blue cheese

• Nutty crunch from toasted walnuts

• A sweet finish from honey or glaze