Endive Baked with Pancetta

During my recent visit to Rome, I have tried many dishes, especially local ones that until then I only had read about. Besides sight-seeing the beautiful city, on the days when it was raining most heavily, I spent hours going through all kinds of food stores looking at the shelves and products they offer. And later, I bothered my friend's mother with hundreds of questions about what I ate, saw, and should try next. I wish I could bring all the food stores with all the vegetable and cheese sections back to America.

But instead, in addition to a huge chunk of genuine Parmesan, I came home with more admiration for Italian cuisine and with many magazines and books with recipes that I now try every day. But because pastas and pizzas are my family favorites no one complained so far.

When I was in Rome, me friend's mother in law gave me an Italian cook book that I have been since studying a lot, looking for new inspirations. Last week, I prepared a dish that looked interesting to me. And I was right--easy yet delicious it became one of my favorites.

This baked endive is similar to the French dishes I ate in France but, instead of béchamel, it uses cream and pancetta, which makes this dish even simpler. It has slightly bitter taste as endive often has, but the creamy sauce flavored with pancetta balances it and makes it perfect. And a piece of fresh baguette with a glass of wine makes it simply irresistible.

Endive Baked with Pancetta

Ingredients:
(Serves four)
8 endives,
4 tbsp unsalted butter,
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs,
4 oz sliced and finely chopped pancetta (I used the one from Trader Joe's),
4 tbsp chopped flat leaved parsley,
juice from one lemon,
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan,
1 cup heavy whipping cream,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cut a small piece of the butter and use it to grease bottom of an oven proof dish.
3. Cut endives lengthwise and place them the dish the cut side up.
4. In a medium bowl mix pancetta, parsley, breadcrumbs, half of the Parmesan, salt an pepper, and scatter on top of endives. Drizzle with lemon juice and pieces of remaining butter.

5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.
6. Remove the foil, pour the cream with Parmesan on top, and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the cream turns into a thicker sauce.
7. Serve hot with white breads.

Endive and Pear Salad

This salad might seem trivial to those who tasted any version of it. But, last time I served it to my friends, it turned out that it was completely unknown to them. It also earned many compliments. It is one of my favorite fall salads so I decided to post this recipe today, as fall is definitely here.

It is easy to make if you only have the right ingredients. The neutral taste of the endive is enhanced by the sweetness of the pear, the strong taste of the blue cheese and aromatic walnuts. Once drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil, the salad should be gently tossed. All the flavors infuse and with each bite you taste them blending in your mouth.

This salad can be served as a dinner entrée or, as it is often in France and Switzerland, as a lunch dish, accompanied by a fresh baguette.

Endive and Pear Salad
(Serves four)

Ingredients: 3-4 endives,
1 ripe but not too soft pear,
1/2 cup toasted walnuts quarters,
1 thick slice of Roquefort or any hard, good quality blue cheese,
juice from 1/2 lemon,
2-3 tbsp olive oil,
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Cut endive diagonally into thick slices and place in a large shallow bowl.
2. Peel off the pear and remove seeds. Cut in four and slice. Scatter on top of the endives.
3. Cut the piece of blue cheese into small cubes and toss on the salad.
4. Finish with walnuts.
5. Make a dressing; in a small bowl mix lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Drizzle the salad on top. You can toss the salad gently or serve in layers for a better presentation.
 

Endive and Persimmon Salad--Inspired by a Super Model

A couple of days ago, I was checking what's new in the world, while drinking my first coffee of the day and wondering what recipe to post next, when I got an email from a friend who is a great fashionista. He was bragging about the posh parties he had recently attended. It read like a real high-life reportage, straight out of the pages of Vanity Fair, written be a fashion corespondent focusing on every detail of (mostly his own) attire.

His excitement was fueled by the sight of Inès de la Fressange, a great French super model from the eighties, whom he met at one of the recent parties. Inès became large than life when she posed for Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic. She has always been one of my favorite models, a rare natural brunette, with an inimitable personal elegance and style, transcending her professional image as a Chanel model.

At the party where a friend of mine spotted her, she was wearing a yellow dress, which I am sure beautifully complemented her dark eyes and hair. In contrast to her smashing looks, she drove away in a workmen's van. What a photo opportunity! Unfortunately, a friend of mine was so mesmerized by her appearance, that he forgot that he had a camera in his phone.

Yeah--I thought after reading his email--some live the high life and get to see the most beautiful women in the world, and some live an ordinary life, trying to capture a beauty of everyday food.

Still in that mood, later that day, I opened my refrigerator. I took out endive and decided to make a salad with just one objective--to make it look elegant. Endive has little nutritious value, but also almost zero calories and a lot of fiber--a great dish for those on diet.

Endive was one of very few vegetables that were thriving in my parents' yard, and every winter we enjoyed its bitter taste in salads. At that time, endive was completely unknown in Poland and eating it regularly for dinner was making me a culinary snob. Probably from that period I have a sentimental attachment to endives, and although I know that green lettuces are much richer in vitamins, I still buy a lot of endive. For this salad, I used persimmon leftovers from the dessert that I had made the day before, and started to experiment by adding different ingredients. Actually, it turned out to be a very delicious salad, with the sweetness of the persimmon complementing the neutral taste of the endive. I also tossed in a few roasted hazelnuts to strengthen its taste. And I do hope you enjoy my yellow and black composition.

Endive salad with persimmon
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
2 endives,
2 persimmons,
1/3 cup roasted hazelnuts,
4 tbsp champagne orange vinegar or a juice from half a lemon ,
hazelnut oil,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Cut endive and divide it among four plates.
2. Peel off the persimmons, cut them in half and slice, arrange slices on the plate with endive.
3. Spread crushed hazelnuts.
4. Sprinkle each plate with champagne vinegar or lemon if you prefer more siuer taste,and oil.
5. Salt and pepper for taste and serve immediately.