“Sea Star” Appetizer
Try this Belgian endive appetizer. Endive is a variation of vegetable chicory that was accidentally selected in the middle of nineteenth century by the head gardener at the Brussels botanical garden. The legend runs that the head gardener occasionally left the root of the chicory in a dark basement and it grew a second bud.
Endive is also called witloof which means “white leaf” in Flemish. This salad contains carbohydrates, proteins and such minerals as potassium, phosphorus and iron.
Its natrium content produces the alkaline reaction in our body and that’s why it maintains good kidney health.
These white and elongate leaves are slightly bitter in taste, but are succulent and very crispy. Witloof comes with salads or used as a wrapper for appetizers with different fillings.
Endive dishes very well with tangy sauces, mayo or vinegar that add a special flavor to them. Choose endive leaves with yellow tips that are less bitter in taste.
Ingredients for “Sea Star” Appetizer
1 head of Belgian endive
400 g shell shrimp
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons anchovy paste
1 cucumber
½ cup olive mayonnaise
Salt to taste
Recipe of “Sea Star” Appetizer
- Wash shrimp and boil with bay leaves in salted water.
- Cook shrimp for 5 minutes, drain water through colander, remove heads and shells.
- Wash endive.
- Carefully separate endive leaves from the head.
- Slice cucumber.
- Arrange endive leaves in the form resembling a sea star and stuff them with shrimp, mayo and anchovy paste.
- Garnish with slices of cucumber, shrimp and mayo.
