Deliciously cooked endives offer a uniquely bitter yet sweet flavor. Cooking endives produces an enriched, delicate-yet-snappy taste entirely different from the raw vegetable. Try this flavorful side dish approach to the endive experience.

Rinse and dry the endives, and remove any leaves that have darkened. Trim the ends slightly and, using a small knife, remove the bitter core at the base of each head. Place in a large flat sauce pan. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon white pepper. Add butter cut into knobs, sugar, lemon juice, and 1 inch of water into the pan. The water should be ½ of the height of the endives laid into the pan. Cover with parchment paper with a hole into the center, and put the lid on. Cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until the centre close to the core is tender.

Serve as garnish with cooking juice or drain thoroughly and use in "Belgium Endives Gratin Rolled in Ham".

Endives are rich in many vitamins and minerals, especially in folate and vitamins A and K; they are also high in fibre.

There are two main varieties of cultivated endive:

• Curly endive or frisée (var crispum). This type has narrow, green, curly outer leaves. Sometimes called chicory in the United States, this plant is called chicorée frisée in French. Further confusion results from the fact that frisée also refers to a technique in which greens are lightly wilted with oil.
• Escarole, or broad-leaved endive (var latifolia), has broad, pale green leaves and is less bitter than the other varieties. Varieties or names include broad-leaved endive, Bavarian endive, Batavian endive, grumolo, scarola and scarole.