I came across a Food & Wine Magazine recipe for Endives in Schmaltz with Peanuts recipe. I have some endives that I just picked up and I have saved chicken fat in my freezer that I save from stewed chicken that I make. So my chicken fat is a little different than schmaltz but is similar. I didn’t have fresh mint so I used some dry mint with fresh basil and chives. I had a little bit of trouble with the recipe probably because I didn’t weigh my endive. My endives got fork tender and were starting to fall apart while I was frying so I couldn’t leave the endives long enough in the pan to evaporate the liquid…..So I did things a little different to make it work. I still fried the endives till soft and finished them under the broiler to char. I’m thinking that maybe the recipe didn’t work for me because I didn’t weigh my endives so I am guessing that my endives were too small so the 5 Tablespoons of schmaltz were too much to use……..I used 5 endives instead of the 4 so I didn’t worry about weighing them but I should have weighed them…We can both learn by my mistake. When ever a recipe also gives a weigh then that means you need to weigh it.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

4 heads Belgian endive halved longways (about 1 pound)

fresh crushed sea salt to taste

up to 5 Tablespoons schmaltz, saved chicken fat, or sweet butter divided into 2 & 3 Tablespoons

2 Tablespoons water

2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice + lime wedges for serving

chopped roasted salted peanuts for serving guessing I used about 1/2 cup…could go lighter.

2 Tablespoons fresh mint – chopped (I didn’t have fresh mint so I used around 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried mint)

2 Tablespoons fresh basil – chopped or torn

2 Tablespoons fresh chives or scallions – chopped

Directions

Sprinkle cut sides of endive with sea salt to taste. Heat 2 Tablespoons of fat in a large skillet on medium high. Add endives and cook cut side down around 2 1/2 minutes. Flip endives over add the two tablespoons water and the lime juice. Cover pan and cook about two more minutes or until the endives are fork tender.

Remove lid. Add the rest of the fat and bast the endives with the fat. Until they brown…about another three minutes….Mine were starting to fall apart and didn’t brown too much so I pulled mine out and broiled them a few minutes.

Serve endives on a platter and finish them with peanuts, mint, chives, and basil. Serve with lime wedges.

A Special THANKS! to Food & Wine Magazine so that I could come up with this dish!