Grilled Endives with Dill & Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Summer grilling is a great way to simplify mealtime. One way to do this is to cook your whole meal on the grill, including the veggies!

When you hear the word “BBQ” the veggies that come to mind are typically corn, onions, and peppers. However, there are so many veggies that are great grilled. One veggie that I am loving lately is endive!

The first time I tried it was in a salad and I was hooked. Wanting to learn other ways to use it I scoured the internet for new ways to prepare this vegetable.

I came across a recipe for grilled endives on The Spruce Eats and wanted to put my own spin on the recipe using spices from the Wildtree collection. Read on for more information and let me know how you like the recipe if you try it!

What Is Endive?

Endive is a type of lettuce. White or yellow in color and is in the same family as radicchio and escarole.

Eat it raw or cooked, endive is versatile and can be used in so a number of ways. Chop it up and throw it in a stew, soup, or add it to your favorite salad for a tasty flavor profile.

If you are not a fan of bitter foods you are better off roasting or grilling it to make it more palatable. A dash of season and spices will also make this vegetable shine.

Endive Nutrition

Not only is endive tasty, but it is also packed with nutrition that makes it beneficial for health. Endive contains the following nutrients (R).

• Vitamins, C
• Vitamin E
• B 1 (Thiamin)
• B2 (Riboflavin)
• B3 (Niacin)
• Folate
• Pantothenic acid.
• Potassium
• Calcium
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Vitamin K

It is most rich in vitamin K, vitamin A, folate, and manganese. Just two cups will give you an excellent source of these nutrients giving you the daily value of 289 percent for vitamin K, 43 percent for vitamin A, and 35 for manganese. Endive is also a good source of fiber with 3 grams in 100 grams (R).

The white, yellow color tells you this veggie contains antioxidants. The compounds found in endive are known as kaempferol which protect against many inflammatory diseases (R).

Kaempferol has been shown to possibly inhibit the effect anti-cancer drugs including  mitoxantrone, topotecan, thyrosine kinase inhibitors, antibiotics (fluoroquinolones), Beta-blockers (prazosin), and antiarthritics (sulfasalazine). If you are on any of these medications ask your doctor about the dietary intake of this compound (R).

All of this adds up to making a healthy addition to your diet. Folate and other B vitamins helps to metabolize fats, protein, and carbs so adding them to meals can improve your digestive health (R).

Goitrogens in Endive

Endive does contain some goitrogens. Those with thyroid issues should be aware of goitrogenic foods in their diet. However, cooking destroys the the enzyme myrosinase. This compound is responsible for activation of progoitrin to goitrin thus negating its anti-thyroidal potency (R).

A thing to keep in mind is though is that cooking, also reduces a lot of valuable nutrients, so a balance of eating both cooked and raw vegetables is probably a smart plan for most patients (R).

How to Pick Endive

When selecting endive be sure to look for lettuce that is bright green, whitish, or yellowish hue. It should have crisp leaves. Avoid lettuce with brown or wilted leaves.

Ingredients

This recipe had only three ingredients and is really easy to make. It features endive, extra virgin olive oil, and Wildtree’s Dill Dip Blend. This blend consists of sea salt, organic dill, organic onion, and organic white pepper. I love adding this spice to my veggies for an extra kick of flavor. Check out the entire recipe below. Try it tonight and let me know what you think of it!

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