Easy Endive Salad

Our crunchy, colorful endive salad puts the delicious, mildly bitter spears in the spotlight. The leaves are shredded and then tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt—a process that takes less than 10 minutes and results in a sophisticated salad that would be right at home at a dinner party but is easy enough for a weeknight. We like to use a combination of red and white endive, but you can certainly use whatever is available at your market. It's a bright and refreshing dish, try pairing it with a rich entrée like a stew or saucy braise as it will offset some of the heaviness. This simple yet elegant salad is a recipe worth holding onto.

What Is Endive?

Endive is a member of the chicory family, which also includes frisée and radicchio. Mild and slightly bitter, the spears are made up of tightly packed leaves surrounding a small, firm core. Endive can be pale-yellow and white or white with deep reddish-purple streaks (the latter actually being a cross between endive and radicchio).

Endive is grown using a two-step process that takes nearly half of a year. First, seeds are sown and left to grow until a hefty tap root forms (this stage takes about five months). The tap roots are then dug up and the leaves trimmed before the roots are transferred to a cold storage room. About a month before a harvest is needed, they're transferred again to a moist, dark growing room—which helps to preserve their pale color—for the second growing period. While it's a labor intensive process, it allows them to be available all year round (which means you can make this salad even in the dead of winter).

How to Buy and Prep Endive

Shopping: Choose endive spears that are firm, tightly closed, and heavy for their size. They should be white to yellow-green in color and free of brown spots. Avoid any with several loose, open, or frayed leaves.

Prepping: To prep endive, peel off the outer leaves and either rinse well (if in good condition) or discard (if wilted or damaged). You can rinse the interior leaves if you'd like, but because of how endive grows, the insides are largely protected and safe to eat without washing. Remove the core—it can be quite bitter to eat raw—then halve and thinly slice lengthwise. Avoid cutting into endive until you're ready to use it will cause it to brown quickly.

This Salad Can Be Made Ahead

This endive salad can be made a few hours ahead and kept chilled in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.