Endive Tart
Savory and a Touch Bitter
[Read about Belgian Endive and why it’s sometimes more bitter.]
You can cook many more endives in the same way in a wider pot, to serve as an accompaniment for more people or, for instance, to make a gratin. Although I’ve had one experience with very bitter endives, I don’t find it necessary to core endives to reduce the bitterness. The parchment paper and close cover help the endives cook evenly, so you don’t have to turn them; if you don’t have parchment paper, weighting the endives with a plate slightly smaller than the diameter of the pot will do.
to cook the endives
7 heads (600 to 700 gr) tight, firm endives, ideally Brussels Grondwitloof
salt
30 gr butter plus butter for the parchment paper
Remove the imperfect outer leaves and trim the root ends of the endives. Optionally, remove part of the core with a paring knife. Choose a pot with a tight cover that will hold the endives in a single compact layer. Lightly salt them, and add 60 ml (¼ cup water) and the butter.
Fold a piece of parchment paper in quarters and then sixteenths. Hold the point over the center of the pot to judge the radius, and trim the wide end with scissors so as to make a circle just wider than the inside of the pot. Place the paper over the endives, and weight it with a plate that just fits inside the pot, and cover the pot.
Set the endives over low heat, so they remain at a low bubble. Add more water if needed to prevent browning, and cook until the endives, when probed with a blade, are thoroughly tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
for the tart
dough to make one 11-inch (28-cm) flaky crust
1 cup (225 gr) mild fresh cheese, from cow’s, goat’s, or ewe’s milk, at room temperature
¾ cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 egg
salt
Heat the oven to 225° C (425° F).
If the dough has been thoroughly chilled in the refrigerator, allow it to warm partway to room temperature, so it won’t crack under the pressure of the rolling pin. Roll it out and fit it to an 11-inch (28-cm) shallow steel tart mold with a removable bottom. Even if the dough shows no sign of being elastic and tough, I cover it in the mold with plastic and refrigerate it, or even freeze it, for an hour or more to partly relax the gluten.
Mix the cheese, cream, and egg, and season with salt, and spread the mixture in the raw tart shell. Halve the endives and arrange them, points inward, on the cheese mixture. Bake the tart to a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serves 6 to 8 as a first course, 4 to 6 as a main lunch course.
