Organic Endive Wallone

Endive: Wallone
Cichorium endivia
Approx. 600 seeds per gram
Excellent salad for late Summer, Autumn and Winter production. The plants are very cold tolerant and prefer partial shade.
What we refer to as Endive is the Lettuce-like varieties, they divide into the curly types often referred to as Frisée and the broad leaf type referred to as Escarole.
They have different flavours and some are more bitter than others. Blanching methods or self-blanching varieties reduces this bitterness.

Wallone is a robust, curly endive for production outside in the autumn. Wallone grows vigorously and has well filled hearts. It resists the first frosts well.

How to grow:
Plant in the miscellaneous section of your rotation.
For early harvesting sow March to April. For Autumn Winter harvesting sow June to September.
Sow in fine soil 1cm deep in rows 30cm apart and thin as they grow to a distance of 20-30cm apart.
Keep weed-free and well-watered and harvest when ready approximately 12 weeks after sowing.
Pests and diseases:
We find that Endive does not suffer from any particular pests or diseases.
How to cook:
Endive is most commonly eaten raw in salads. It goes well with walnuts, oranges, blue cheese and especially lemon juice which is said to help reduce the bitter taste.
It can be cooked, here are a couple of methods.
Boiled: Bring a large saucepan of water to a rapid boil add a pinch of salt and the whole head of Endive. Cover with a lid and cook for 4 minutes or until tender. Drain, cut the stem end off and chop leaves. Then drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice salt and pepper.
Sautéed: Gently fry some garlic in olive oil in a large pan. Wash and chop the Endive and add some to the pan, once it is wilted you can add some more. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and braise for 10 minutes until tender. Once cooked add lemon juice to taste.