Endive is a type of bitter salad rich in vitamin A, B and C, with a tonic and slightly diuretic action. Let's find out better.
Plant description and variety
The endives ( Cichorium endivia ), often confused with the chicory due to the slightly bitter taste but easily distinguished by the most hairless leaves, are salads that belong to the Composite family.
Curly in winter or blonde with a full heart, this vegetable typical of the central-southern regions is a vegetable originating from the Mediterranean basin that is consumed mainly in salads but also boiled, stuffed with Romans, etc.
Endive is a biennial plant with mainly autumn production with two main varieties:
- The endive scarola latifolium variety, with juicy and crunchy pulp, has the name that derives from the Latin escarius, which means "edible". Escarole endive is a salad grown for autumn-winter productions. The rosette head is formed by elongated leaves of a light green or dark color, with an entire or toothed margin and a marked white rib.
- The curly endive, variety crispum, is a winter type salad with light green leaves that do not form a heart. There are numerous varieties divided into early and late. Among the first are Riccia d'Italia, Riccia romanesca, Riccia cuor d'oro and Mantovana; among the late ones there is the Riccia in winter, the red of Moncalieri with white coast or pink coast.
Properties and benefits of endive
This vegetable is appreciated not so much for the particular nutritional qualities, but for the tonic, slightly diuretic properties (thanks to a high content of water that exceeds 90%) and laxatives.
The endive is a very low caloric and crunchy vegetable, capable of absorbing the aromas of the foods with which it is cooked. It has only one weak point: a slight bitter taste, above all at the base, which is enough to eliminate so that it is also accepted by children.
Calories and nutritional values of endive
With only 15 kcal per 100 g, the endive is a vegetable rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, group B vitamins (which also have an anti-hunger action), vitamin K but also, among the mineral salts, potassium and calcium.
It has a low sodium content and a good amount of iron and fiber (especially cellulose and hemicellulose which give some varieties a firm and crunchy texture).
Endive, ally of
Its concentration of vitamin C is an excellent ally of the immune system : if 100 kcal of endive were consumed (compared to a daily energy requirement of about 2000 kcal), it would cover about 100% of the need for vitamin C and fiber.
Particularly rich in vitamin K, it acts as an anti-haemorrhagic factor in blood coagulation, helping the blood to coagulate normally. The richness of potassium and the poverty of magnesium and sodium give it a diuretic power while the richness of dietary fiber favors intestinal transit .
It is among the vegetables with the highest content of folic acid, a vitamin involved in reactions associated with the synthesis of nucleobases of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and in the differentiation of red blood cells and therefore useful vitamin particularly in pregnancy or in case of cardiovascular diseases .
Curiosity about endive
- The endive of Bergamo, grown in limited quantities in the area around the walls of the Upper Town, is distinguished from other varieties on the market by the particular process of whitening the inner leaves. Sown from the end of July until the end of October, it is tied with a noose, a head of a head, so that the internal leaves do not take light. With the first cold, the seedlings are transferred to the basements where they are laid out in the dark; the internal leaves continue to mature but do not acquire color.
- Regarding the bitter taste of endive, the Romans who referred to it as intybus, considered it a medicinal plant for its bitter taste and according to traditional Chinese medicine “bitter nourishes the element Fire, tones the kidneys and rebalances the functionality of the spleen: getting used to consuming bitter foods, therefore, dampens the desire for sweetness, purifies us and keeps us substantially in shape ”.
How to use idivia in the kitchen
The endive is extremely versatile in the kitchen. You can, for example, taste raw but in this case you need to make sure that they are organic salads because the leaves are the parts of the plant that absorb more pesticides. Organic endives are recognizable by their appearance: less thick and often a little greener.
It is also excellent sautéed with a little water (often the water that naturally remains on the leaves after they have been washed is enough): the leaves soften and partially lose their bitter taste. At the end of cooking just add a little extra virgin olive oil from the first cold pressing of the soy sauce (if you like) and a sprinkling of black pepper or fresh or powdered chili.
The Belgian endive is excellent on the grill but should be enriched with flavor: at the end of cooking, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of chopped parsley make it even more delicious.
In all endive dishes the advice is to add chopped fresh herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary, etc.); just add, for example, 3 g of marjoram to 200 g of salad to increase the antioxidant capacity of this vegetable by 200%.
