Vegetarian Recipe: Elegant Endives

Every week on the Good Food Blog we celebrate Meatless Monday by sharing a vegetarian recipe from our archives.

Erika Lenkert is the author of The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless and Foolishly Simple Entertaining, published by McGraw Hill. She first shared this recipe for Elegant Endives on December 13, 2003.

Photo by Michael Weishan

Keep reading for the full recipe…

Elegant Endives

Makes about 10 to 15

• 1 head endive

• 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled

• 1/2 cup caramelized and spiced nuts (recipe to follow)

• 3 tablespoons honey

Slice off the base of the endive and separate the endive leaves, carefully pulling them apart so they’re intact. Lay the leaves on a large serving tray in a decorative pattern — such as concentric circles or diagonal rows. Fill the base of each leaf (the strongest and whitest part) with a heaping teaspoon of blue cheese crumbs. Sprinkle each with nuts and top with a drop or two of honey.

Caramelized and Spiced Nuts

Makes 1 cup

• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 Tablespoon sugar

• Pinch of cayenne and freshly ground pepper (for spiced nuts)

• 1 cup pecans and walnuts

In a small saucepan melt the butter over moderate heat, add the sugar (and spices if you wish) and stir until the sugar’s dissolved. Add the nuts, stirring until golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a nut bowl to cool.