Endives

Curly endive and escarole endive

Often confused with their "cousin" chicory (both belong to the same genus, Cichorium), endives grow a rosette of very wrinkled leaves that form a somewhat loose head. The leaves can be blanched by tying them together with raffia string. Belgian endives are shaped like large cream-coloured cigars because they are grown in the dark; this technique keeps the leaves lighter and more tender. Endives essentially come in two varieties: the classic variety, crispum (shown in the photo), and latifolium. The latter is known as escarole in English and scarola in Italian, while the former is known as curly endive or frisée.

Like many other types of leafy vegetables, this vegetable is rich in folate, which plays an important role in DNA synthesis, the production of red blood cells and, in pregnant women, the prevention of neonatal malformations. One particular variety, the Bergamo escarole endive, which is grown in limited quantities in the area around the walls of Bergamo’s upper town, is cultivated by blanching its internal leaves, which gives them a more delicate and less bitter flavour. To blanch the leaves, the heads are tied with string so that the internal leaves are not exposed to light and then, when the weather turns cold, the plants are transferred to a dark space.