Native to Europe this bushy perennial herb with lavender blue flowers is grown for its leaves or its roots and the two parts are used very differently. The roots are widely used as a coffee substitute in many parts of the world and the leaves are more commonly seen anknown in the different varieties like endive and radicchio. There are three main types of the leaf variety of chicory; endive, radicchio and sugar loaf. Endive is a white with a hint of green on its leaves in a tightly packed little head of romaine lettuce type shape. Radicchio is a reddish purplish with white streaks again packed in a tight little head but more the shape of a tiny cabbage. The sugarloaf is more lettuce looking, a smaller looser head but again still packed tightly.

The chicories are all very bitter and can be a very scary ingredient. People are typically attracted by their beauty but thrown off by them, well because they don’t know WHAT THE HECK TO DO WITH IT!!

More a cooler weather crop than a summer crop, this was the first question that was posed to me for the What the heck do I do with it section, so as a tribute to the first come first serve rule, I will provide my favorite chicory so that the next time you see chicory or endive, you will get to experience its wonder rather than fear it! (and by the way I am not a believer in the endive boats-throw some toppings on the leaves and serve it as an appetizer style recipes, I believe the chicories deserve more excitement)

Sugar Loaf and Endive Salad with Grainy Mustard Sauce
Serves 4
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
¼ cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Salt & pepper
2 small endives, leaves
1 medium head sugar loaf endive leaves torn
Parmesan cheese, shredded

Whisk together in a small mixing bowl the garlic, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and parsley, until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the chicories (endive and sugar loaf) and gently toss. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Baked Chicory (Cicoria Al Forno)

Serves 4

Butter
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 cup bread crumbs
Zest of 2 lemons
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
¾ cup pancetta (cooked and cut into tiny pieces)
Salt & pepper
3 heads of chicory (radicchio or endive) cut into quarters
½ cup heavy cream
Juice of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease glass baking dish with butter. In a medium mixing bowl combine, parsley, bread crumbs, lemon zest, parmesan and garlic and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Place cut chicories flat on the baking dish, Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over the endive. Drizzle lemon juice over the top. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Take out of the oven pour heavy cream over the top and mix gently. Bake uncovered with the temperature up to 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown.