Friday 29 October 2010

Endive blanching - the result

On 11 October I described my method of blanching Endives to make them less bitter. Remember this?

Endive blanching - the start

Well, yesterday (28 October) I harvested the two Endives in that picture. The one under the bucket was not very good: several of the outer leaves had gone brown and slimy (probably got too cold during the frosty nights last week, since they would have been in contact with the plastic). I was able to rescue the heart of the Endive though, so all was not lost. The one tied with string was much more successful; in fact it was exactly what I had been hoping for. This is what it looked like when I untied the string:

The end result

Here they are both together, on the kitchen worktop, awaiting preparation. (The best one is on the right of the photo). They are destined to be used as part of a French-inspired meal featuring Gratin Dauphinoise, Celeriac Remoulade, Salade aux Lardons and Saucission Sec...(and probably a bottle of "our own" Cotes De Duras wine).




By the way, this fine loaf (home-made by Jane) made with Spelt flour is also going to feature in the meal mentioned above, perhaps with the addition of some nice unsalted butter...

Spelt loaf

The broad-leaved Batavian Endives are also looking good.

Broad-leaved Endive

They could be harvested now if necessary. I have not used any artificial methods for blanching them, since the hearts tend to go quite pale of their own accord.

5 comments:

  1. MMmmmmm the meal sounds good. I have never eaten or grown endives. I also made some spelt bread a few months back. Jane's looks good, I hope you both enjoyed the meal.
    I have to say your plot looks very good judging by the photo on your side bar, you must have quite a large garden ! or have you given most of it over for veggies instead of flower beds ? Have a good week-end and thank you for commenting on my blog.

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  2. Hi Maureen; Thanks for visiting my blog. My garden is actually pretty small -- about 10 metres square, but as you guessed, most of it is devoted to veg production. I see you are also a Hampshire resident like me -- am I allowed to know where?

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  3. Wow! That was a dinner to remember - simple but special. The spelt bread was from a recipe in the October issue of Waitrose Kitchen magazine.

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  4. Yum. That bread looks lovely and I especially like the look of the broad leaf endive.
    Thanks for permission to paint from your photo of the mallard. It will soon be started and I will post it when finished.

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  5. Your blanched endive turned out great. Did the bitterness decrease? I used my endive in an Italian Bean soup. Thanks for commenting on my blog and for your post about endive.

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