I love appetizers. Finger-foods. Tapas. Whatever you would like to call them - I cannot get enough. Over the holidays you could find me mostly fawning over a cheese board, or hoarding cookbooks for ideas for other small delights. However, the downfall with this tiny food obsession is that many of them are calorie heavy weights, and it is easy to lose track and overload on them. In realizing my star-crossed love for starters may not be the best for my health, I set off to create a nourishing hors d'oeuvre that is still sweet, savory, and satisfying all at once (and it wont fill you up before dinner!). So thus, I give you…
Endive is a bitter, leafy vegetable from the chicory family that grows in small, tightly-packed heads. This bitter taste is great for helping engage and strengthen the digestive process, as it activates the production of digestive enzymes. These endive leaves act as such a wonderful vessel for all the other ingredients. The goat cheese and white beans pureed together provide a bit of protein and slightly savory, tangy, and spicy backdrop. This is complimented by the sweet earthiness of the beets, saltiness of the pistachios (healthy fats!), and finally completed with a sugary honey drizzle and mild chives. So good! Definitely my go-to appetizer for 2019.
The star of the show really is these chopped beets though, they are so yummy and nutritious! Beets are chock full of phytonutrients called betalains which provide anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and detoxification support. In addition, they are super low in calories per serving while being absolute powerhouses in the nutrient category. Beets are high in many essential nutrients like fiber, folate, potassium, and vitamin C! They are known to help regulate blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and aid digestion. Plus, they are so easy to prepare ahead of time and keep in the fridge for use in later recipes!
The best part about this dish is how easy it is to prepare. Just throw all the ingredients for the puree in the blender, and then assemble! I used canned beans, but you can also use an equivalent amount in soaked and cooked dried beans. I also used prepackaged cooked beets! Chop those up, crush those pistachios, mince the chives, and your’e good to go.
I found a gallon-size ziplock worked just fine as a piping bag, and placing the endive leaves all close to each other helped them stay upright in the filling process. The hardest part was making sure they all didn’t get eaten before I could take pictures! Give these a try at your next get-together, or just make a plate for yourself - they’re kind of like a deconstructed salad, right?
Endive Boats w/ Goat Cheese & White Bean Puree, Roasted Beets, and Pistachios
Ingredients:
White bean and goat cheese puree:
1 - 15 ounce can Great Northern or cannellini beans
4 ounces soft goat cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (or the juice from one lemon)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper
2 heads endive
1/2 cup beets, cooked and diced (you can even buy them precooked!)
1/4 cup pistachios
2 tablespoons chives, minced
2 tablespoons honey
Directions:
Add the beans, goat cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, red chili flakes, salt, and pepper to a food processor or blender.
Blend until creamy and smooth.
Place pistachios in a plastic bag, and crush with rolling pin.
Separate the leaves of endive, and place them on a serving dish.
Transfer puree from blender to a ziplock or piping bag, and fill each leaf 3/4 of the way full.
Top with roasted beets, crushed pistachios, and chives.
Drizzle honey over the top.
Serve and enjoy!
Makes: ~ 12 filled leaves
Time: 20 minutes
Yum!
All gone!