Braised Endive...

And I’m home again. I believe I mentioned some time last month that during March I’d be away on holiday in Europe, but in those busy, havoc filled days leading up to our departure I completely forgot to leave a note saying that I was going, and wouldn’t be back until the end of the month. Whoops!  Anyway, I’m home now, and I’ll try to be a good blogger. I feel very inspired after our getaway and have come back with all sorts of interesting ideas for recipes and dishes that I can’t wait to start making. The one thing about vacation, and it doesn’t matter where we go, or how well we eat when we’re there but upon returning home I am always, so, so grateful to be cooking for myself once more. Vacation is all about decadence, local vegan eats, local vegan delicacies, good wine, great coffee, and a lot of food that’ll fill you up! We eat a lot of bread on vacation especially for breakfast - something I don’t do at home - and it seems we never eat as many vegetables or drink as much water as we would at home. So, even though I never want to come home, the one thing I’m always grateful for is to be in possession of a kitchen again.

One of the first recipes I made after returning was this deliciously French preparation of Endive. You know, it’s funny, I never gave much thought to endive before but we ended up eating quite a lot of it in France, Luxembourg and Belgium. Not that I didn’t like endive before, I just never did anything with it. Kind of like how I used to dislike and ignore Arugula until we went to Germany in 2012 and I came home with a new appreciation for it. Funny how stuff like that works huh? Anyway, this recipe is simple to prepare and would make a great side dish to any hearty French inspired meal. I’m thinking Portobello Frites!

Braised Endive 

6-8 Endive
1 Tbsp Non-Dairy Butter
1-2 tsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp dried Tarragon
½ C Vegan Chicken Stock
*** 2 Tbsp Unsweetened Soy milk

- Trim the ends of the endive, and melt the butter over medium heat in a large pan on the stove.

- Fry the Endive on all sides until it browns slightly. Add the sugar, vinegar, tarragon and stock and then bring to a boil.

- Reduce to a simmer, cover the pan and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until endives are tender and nicely browned. Turning over once halfway through cooking.

- When the Endives are nice and tender remove the lid from the pan and let simmer 3-4 more minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. (Keep in mind you want some liquid for serving, but you don’t want an entire pan full of it) Add in the soy milk and simmer another 2 minutes.

- Remove Endive from the pan and plate. Drizzle with some of the remaining sauce and garnish with minced chives or parsley. Serve and enjoy!

***Note - For a soy-free version make sure to use soy-free non-dairy butter, and sub coconut milk for the soy milk.***