For those of you who may not be aware: "Witloof Chicory (also called Belgian Endive) denotes the
blanched, tight heads produced by forcing (or growing in the darkness) the big
mature chicory roots in forcing structures." (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/vegetables/endive.html).
Some people don't like Belgian Endives (witloof) because of the slightly bitter taste. There are ways of preparing it that make it taste less bitter. I've always loved the taste, even as a small child. Both of my children do, too, luckily (of course that may still change ;-)).
One day, my 3-year-old daughter asked me to make a vegetable pie with Belgian Endives. One of my favourite ways to eat Witloof is with smoked salmon (instead of the traditional ham) and cheese sauce. So putting smoked salmon and cheese in the pie seemed the way to go. The children and I love this pie (husband is not a big fan of Belgian endives), so we hope you'll like it, too!
Belgian Endives Pie with smoked salmon
- 1 puff pastry pie base (supermarket)
- small bunch of chives, finely chopped
- 5 stumps Belgian endive (witloof), chopped
- 200 g smoked salmon, in small strips
- 60 g grated Parmesan cheese
- 60 g grated (old) Gouda cheese
- 150 g cottage cheese
- 1,5 dl condensed milk, unsweetened
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 eggs
- a pinch of cayenne pepper and/or nutmeg
- salt and pepper
- Fry the chopped endive in a little butter in a pan until they are rather dry. Add some cayenne pepper and/or nutmeg.
- Preheat the oven to 200° C of 180°C for a fan-assisted oven. Beat the eggs and mix them with the cottage cheese, flour and condensed milk.
- Add the chives, parmesan, Belgian Endives and smoked salmon.
- Put the pie base in a (silicone) baking tin, pour in the filling, sprinkle with the grated Gouda cheese and put in the oven for 15 to 20 mins.
Enjoy!
I promised I would also post some recipes for vegetable pies with a crust made from scratch instead of a store-bought one. Here's the first one:
Spinach pie
Dough:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 75 g butter
- approx. 2 tbsp cold water
Spinach mixture:
- 1/3 cup cream cheese (I use Philadelphia)
- 2 large eggs
- 125 ml milk
- 1 tbsp pesto
- 1 spring onion, chopped
- 1 tsp horseradish sauce (from a jar)
- 1/2 tsp mustard
- 1/2 cup grated cheese (I tend to use parmesan and/or Gouda)
- 2 to 3 handfuls of finely chopped spinach (either fresh or defrosted, the more you use, the greener the pie)
- salt, pepper and nutmeg
- Put flour, salt and butter in the blender and grind it into crumbs. Then start adding water whilst the machine is still running, until the dough turns into a ball. Use a quiche pan with removable bottom (approx. 20 cms) and make sure the dough covers the bottom and (part of) the sides as evenly as possible (this is the hardest part, I promise ;-)). Then cover the dough with parchment paper, fill it with rice or baking beans and put it in the oven for 12-15 mins at 200°C (or 180° for a fan-assisted oven).
- In the mean time, prepare the filling. Mix the cream cheese, eggs and milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend them until you get a smooth, green cream. Pour this into the baked crust and put it back in the oven for approx. 30 mins at 180 °C (or 160°C for a fan-assisted oven), until the top becomes slightly brown (as you can see in the picture above). Serves 4.
You can also make 2 spinach pies and put one in the freezer.
