Open-ground endive
Rudy Royer, of Rudy’s vegetables, is based in Saint-Ouen-Domprot in the south of the Marne, twenty five kilometers from Vitry le François. It produces, among other things, an earth endive that grows quietly and at low temperature, in the dark. This allows it to develop its taste qualities, it is very slightly bitter and slightly sweet. Of a yellow color, the endive of full ground is also very crunchy.
A great chef for an endive
Jacky Michel, former chef of the Hotel d’Angleterre restaurant in Châlons en Champagne and now retired, organizes cooking classes at 111 avenue de Paris in Châlons. There are plenty of recipe ideas with endives! (Re)listen to this program to discover them.
Legend has it that a farmer named Bréziers hid wild chicory plants at the back of a cellar to pay less tax. On recovering them a few weeks later, he discovered that the roots had given a white, spindle-shaped plant .. the endive was born.