POLL: "Nobody ever buys this"

[Jenise]

Said the supermarket grocery clerk, mildly perturbed because she had to look up the code for curly endive. Never mind that her personal repertoire of acceptable salad ingredients begins and ends with the 4 or 5 things found in an Olive Garden 'endless salad', she had me wondering who the few others of us are that cause supermarkets to keep a few heads of this bitter, prickly green on hand. I'm sure I have company in Christina, but not sure who else. It is one of those large handful of produce items that I have never been served in someone else's home. Maybe once, EVER, in it's infant state--frisee--but the big stuff? Un huh.

So, who else is a fan? And if you are, how do you use it?

Can't say that I'm truly a fan nor that I buy it often, but I have bought it in the past for salad use.

I love it. It's still a bit early around these parts, but I buy endive and escarole all winter for standard green use. Either sauteed alone, mixed in with other dishes. It's obviously more bitter than other greens, but that's fine. I don't mind bitter and it's nice to have diversity across the year.

Growing up, the only type of endive we had . The innermost white parts, the best. Love it in chicken soup with Stracciatella - Italian egg drop soup . Egg whipped with lots of grated Parm/Romano and black pepper drizzled into simmering soup. Works well in zuppa di fagiole . Often the green in Italian wedding soup - a rich chicken broth with tiny, savory meatballs. Also love it chiffonaded with anchovy dressing or with a warm bacon dressing and poached egg. In a salad with a few capers, lemon juice, good olive oil and shaved cheese. Can be the green alone or in combination in the torta mentioned a while back - savory pie with pine nuts, raisins.
A wonderful green. I've become partial to bitter greens over most others. A great foil for other flavors and textures.

Around here it's usually sold as chicory. We probably buy once a month or so. Sometimes in salad, sometimes sauteed.

I don't generally buy it, because I grow it in my garden and it is so much better than anything in a grocery store. I love using it in salads to add a bit of bitterness.

Yes, I buy it and love it. I almost always make an endive salad with lots of crushed fresh garlic, some sliced green onion, sea salt, coarsely ground pepper and good olive oil with a dash of red wine vinegar. Just like my Mom made it while I was growing up.

Rarely. I also rarely buy frisee. And they do have it sometimes at Oliver's.

[Jenise]

So glad to know I have some company here! Christina's post jogs a memory though: shortly after moving here a few years ago I bought some curly endive in Vancouver (possibly Granville market) because it was so different than any I'd ever seen. It was short, much more compact and dense than what we get here on the American west coast, much darker green at the tips and a rich cream-white for at least half of the stem. The endive I'm used to are larger, rangier heads, lighter green outer and yellowish inner leaves. The Vancouver endive was superior to any I've ever had. Haven't seen it like that again. Wonder if that's typical (haven't looked for it since) or was kind of a one-off? I don't recall seeing anything like that again. Nadine & David, if you're reading this, can you comment?