The Endive Chronicles

The recipe I have chosen to share with you today is one I have not made in several years. The idea came about six or seven years ago while customer and chef Gino was sharing a few secrets of his kitchen with me over the espresso bar. On his sage advice I began to keep roasted peppers, capers and olives* as a part of my regular pantry, using them in almost everything. I must admit this did get a little out of hand. While I was in the thick of this phase Phil and I were invited to dinner at the home of our dear friends the Christa and Seth; would I cook dinner?

Of course I would. I carefully planned out each course, but could not decide what to do for the vegetable. One of my biggest pet peeves is being served a mostly fabulous dinner, paired with a boring vegetable. I am convinced the reason many children (and adults, you know who you are) don’t eat their vegetables is because they are usually an unadorned, overcooked snooze-fest. Now, I am not suggesting you dump a jar of cheese-like substance on your broccoli or drown your cauliflower in a sea of ranch dressing, merely that you add a little zing to your veg. A little certainly goes a long way.

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Picture it: A typical suburban home circa 1982, it’s Saturday morning; a three year old and her father are locked in battle over the pile of cold scrambled eggs left on her plate. Her lips are pursed, eyes fixed, Burt and Ernie slippers hooked around the rungs of her chair as her father with eyebrow cocked, looks sternly down at her determined face. Acting as ambassador, the mother offers a squirt of ketchup as a possible solution. An accord is reached and only a portion of the eggs are to be consumed.

As you may have guessed, I was that determined three year old. I wasn’t a picky eater for the most part, but there were a few things I absolutely refused to consume. My mother laughs when talking of prying my mouth apart to deposit pureed squash only to see it instantly squirting out the other side. Most kids have food they won’t eat, sometimes that follows them into adulthood and doesn’t allow them to try new things. Thankfully now 26 years later I am an adventurous eater and steadily bashing away at the list of no-go foods from my childhood. Eggs I’ll admit are still hit and miss for me. Although dishes such as Ina Garten’s Herb Baked Eggs, Piperade and Frittata have helped me see past the scrambled eggs of my childhood. As an adult I have realised that my aversion to certain foods is based in texture instead of flavor except in one case; raw fennel.

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