Braised Endives

I had never cooked with Belgian endives before (not to be confused with the curly endive, which has crazy leaves). My friend Kevin showed me this recipe that was in this awesome cookbook called Canal House.

BRAISED ENDIVES

Ingredients:
- 3 belgian endives (I had two white, one red)
- 1/2 cup chicken (or vegetable) stock
- 2 tbsp butter
- Salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in pan on high heat.
Brown endives on all sides (this part is really important or else they won't caramelize and will taste bitter later!)
Pour stock in the pan. Once it's been brought to a boil, turn the heat down to simmer.
Cover the pan and braise for 30-40 min (I ended up going closer to 40 min to make sure they were cooked through).
Uncover, turn the heat back up to medium-high and reduce the pan juices.
Serve.

Endives are naturally pretty bitter. If you caramelize them enough and cook them long enough, this should offset the bitterness by a lot. However, they'll still be a little bitter. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Items not dumpstered or donated: Chicken stock, butter