Mediterranean-style chicories

Endivias a la mediterranea

Wild chicory leaves are usually bitter. Their bitterness was appreciated in certain Mediterranean cuisines, reaching back to ancient Egyptian time. But the torpedo shaped chicory was "rediscover" by accident in Belgium in 1830. The head gardener of the Botanical Gardens in Brussels forgot about the roots left covered in soil in the cellar. He discovered that chicory produced lovely, pale, tight cone shaped heads. It took another few decades before the growing method was perfected but once introduced to the general public, it became as firmly established in Belgian cuisine as 'frites and mussels' or Belgian chocolates. Nowadays Chicory is cooked back to the Mediterraean area.
By Tapas Together Edinburgh