Endive appetizer with blue cheese and blackberries, drizzled with a blackberry sauce.
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Summer demands easy entertaining and food that refreshes. I'm generally carrying a fan around the house to stay cool on days the San Francisco fog stays out at sea (I have a svelte little tower model by Wexford that I love), and have loads of things I'd rather do than slave in a hot kitchen for hours on end during the hottest part of the day.
So on days that sizzle, when friends stop by for a casual dinner off the grill, this little appetizer that takes all of 20 minutes to make totally rocks. And if you make the Blackberry Sauce ahead of time, like I do, this becomes a 10 minute appetizer guaranteed to please. Just drizzle a little over a blackberry studded endive scoop of blue cheese mixed with Greek yogurt, bring out a bottle (or two) of Rios de Chile wine, and you may not need to serve dinner at all.
All of this is in honor of National Berry Month. Truthfully, every month is berry month for me since I have berries of some kind almost every day of the year, but when they peak with their fat, juicy, sweetness in July, they definitely deserve their own month. So when I was asked to participate with six other bloggers to create a starter using Driscoll's berries and endive (that's 'ON-deeve, by the way) from California Endive that could be paired with Rios de Chile wine, I jumped at the opportunity.
A little about Driscoll's:
Family owned for over 100 years, Driscoll’s is passionate about growing premium fresh berries. Every berry begins life in Driscoll's nurseries, carefully sited based on their geographic isolation in an effort to keep the soil free of pests and diseases. Seedlings move from germ-free screen houses to nursery fields, a process that can take several years. After the seedlings are harvested, they are carefully packed and shipped to Driscoll's coolers where they're kept chilled in hibernation until ready for planting by Driscoll's network of independent farmers. The berries are grown by farmers in California and Mexico - and I'm fortunate enough to have three of their farms within a 90 minute drive of our home.
A little about California Endive:
A couple of years ago I took a fascinating tour of California Endive's farm. Only it doesn't really look like a farm you might be used to seeing. Endive is actually the result of a two-stage growing process. Chicory seeds are sown in the spring producing a root the size of a large carrot by fall. The leafy tops are mowed down and used as fodder for animals. The roots are harvested and placed in cold, dark, humid, “forcing” rooms to produce endives. It's an amazing site to draw aside heavy plastic sheets to peer inside a cavernous growing room stacked 20 feet high with endive 'fields', all carefully irrigated and kept completely in the dark. Endive can be served cooked or raw but has slightly more health benefits raw. It promotes digestive health, boasts 1 calorie per leaf, is a good source of potassium, and just one cup of raw endive per week has been shown to lower ovarian cancer rates by 75% !
A little about Rios de Chile:
This is a new wine for me, and what a find it was! Rios de Chile's wine is a Chilean winery with both red and wine wines to their credit. Their reds in particular have won high rankings by the wine media. They sent me a couple of bottle of their Carmenere, a red wine I found full-flavored, very fruity, and a little peppery. It was perfect paired with the mustiness of blue cheese and sweet fruit of the berries!
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Blackberries, Blue Cheese and Endive Appetizer: #Berry Month
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Endive Scoops
- 2 heads endive
- 1 pint blackberries
- ¼ cup blue cheese
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon minced chives
Blackberry Sauce
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 shallot minced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Slice off the ends of the endive, and separate into individual leaves. No need to wash endive because of the way it's grown.
- Rinse the blackberries and dry them well.
- Mash together the blue cheese and yogurt until fairly smooth. Either spoon 1 teaspoon into the larger end of each endive leave and top with a blackberry, or snip off the corner of a zip-lock baggie, fit it with a piping nozzle. Fill the bag with the blue cheese-yogurt mixture and pipe it onto each endive leaf.
- Drizzle Blackberry Sauce (recipe below) on top with a sprinkle of minced chives.
Blackberry Sauce
- Place the blackberries in a medium bowl with the sugar and red wine vinegar and mash the berries. I use a potato masher to do this.
- Stir in the shallot, salt, and pepper until the salt dissolves. Stir in the olive oil until emulsified.
apuginthekitchen
Susan this is incredible, so simple but really complex flavors. I love blackberries and endive and the creamy cheesy filling is perfect, everything together must just explode with flavor.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It's like a bite of summer, Suzanne. We couldn't stop eating them. I kept having to make more for photos, LOL!
Maureen
We have Driscoll's in Australia and I'm rarely disappointed. I like this appetizer a lot. It's fresh, creamy, sweet and it looks beautiful.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Maureen! It's addictive. And yes, Driscoll's is wonderful. I didn't realize they were in Australia too! They're all over the world now I think!
The Food Hunter
What an elegant appetizer!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much!!
Michelle
I absolutely love each of these flavors on their own. Plus I love berries in savory dishes. I can't wait to make this.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Me too, Michelle! I'm always added them to my kale salads and even grains dishes. Berries are great with quinoa!!
Ashlee
This seriously sounds divine!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Ashlee! Perfect for summer 🙂
Dionne Baldwin
I usually look at endives with the resignation that they must have some good-for-me value but hearing those details about lowering cancer risk and potassium, I'm sold! I need to work more endive onto our plates. Thanks for this recipe!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It's mind-boggling when you read the statistics! And it's so easy. They keep for a really long time in the refrigerator and don't even need washing!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
You and I are channeling the same muse today, only you put a sauce on it! Well done!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
That is so great, Dorothy!! We are definitely hooked up right now! I'm off to see your post now. I wish I'd known in advance who the others were in this series. Constance at The Foodie Army Wife is one of them too!
Diane {Created by Diane}
what a delicious idea!!!
Laurie C
Thanks for the pronunciation note! I wonder if I can find endive in my local produce place. I've never looked for it before, but with a sugar substitute, this seems like it would fit pretty well as party food in a low-carb diet!
cheri
HI Susan, we have blackberries up and down our drive. Not quite ripe yet, but getting close. This will be one of the dishes I make first, absolutely love this!
laurasmess
What a gorgeous appetizer Susan! I love everything about it... the piquant blue cheese, sweet blackberries and the peppery endive. With chilled white wine? Heaven! We get Driscoll's berries in Australia when ours are out of season. Pretty delicious. National Berry Month sounds like a great idea to celebrate nature's bounty! x
Cheryl
I just love your blog and reading your recipes! I am currently doing a call out for no-bake recipes on my recipe link party, The Yuck Stops Here and would love it if you would bring this recipe, your Vegan Quinoa and Black Bean Wraps with Hummus and your Basil and Chive Compound Butter, or any other no-bake favorites to the party! The party starts tonight (Tuesday) at 8pm ET and can be found on my blog, Hot Momma’s Kitchen Chaos. I hope to see you there! HUGS
mjskit
Thanks for the information on Driscoll's! I buy most of my berries at Costco and all are Driscoll's. They are such awesome berries and what a lucky girl to be living so close to a Driscoll's farm. I'm quite envious. 🙂 I obviously don't eat enough endive. This great little snack/appetizer is going to be a great way to start eating it. What a creative bite!
Terra
What a lovely appetizer idea, and definitely perfect for a hot Summer day. The recipe sounds delicious and flavorful! Yum, Hugs, Terra