My current endive fixation was sparked by my trip to Brussels. Backstage at the Flemish Primitives were several flower boxes planted with endive. The endive was beautiful, breaking free from the soil, and the sight prompted immediate scribblings and sketches. I returned home and quickly forgot about that stream of inspirations. A trip to the store and a bounty of endive reawakened my newfound interest in endives.
Endives are interesting vegetables. They have several textures and possess a variety of flavors. An issue I have had with endive is the difference between the feathery tips and the denser core of the leaves. When we were working on our fluke dish, we cut the endive in a new way for us. We separated the stalk from the lighter feathery tips and created two exciting textures. What is interesting is that the core of the endive was sweet and delicate while the feathery tips contained the bitter notes commonly associated with endive. In separating the endive into textures, we were able to look at the traditional spears in a new light. The center stalks take well to bolder flavors and marination, while the feathery tips add light, crisp, bitter notes. The butchery of the endive inspired the direction of the fluke dish and the subsequent idea of endive and pear kimchi.
In thinking about the endive flavored with kimchi, we began looking at complementary flavors. Somehow pears jumped out. We made a puree of kimchi and used that to dress the endive stalks and pear slices. We added a splash of lemon juice, a bit of salt, and some minced parsley. To bring the salad together, we reached for some Cabot Clothbound cheddar and the endive feathers.
Upon reflection, the salad as we prepared it could be part of a larger dish, as an accompaniment to several other small plates, an accent of sorts to support a few other ideas and directions.
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