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The late Anthony Bourdain remains a giant of the culinary world. Aside from being the confident, opinionated personality who introduced viewers to countless food-related treasures through his books and TV shows, Bourdain was also an accomplished chef with sophisticated tastes. One recipe from his 2016 cookbook “Appetites” contains a great serving method to balance the heaviness of chicken salad.
Fortunately, the recipe for Belgian endive curry chicken salad is pretty straightforward. The chicken-based mixture is simply served on a boat-like leaf of Belgian endive, a small, leafy green that’s similar to lettuce with a slightly bitter taste and a firm texture. This texture makes it the perfect vehicle, as the leaves’ crispness contrasts nicely with the creamy, mayonnaise-based salad, itself laced with walnuts for additional texture.
One of the top restaurant mistakes Bourdain said to avoid was ordering any gimmicky items, and this salad is anything but. The endives’ bitterness mitigates the richness of the mayonnaise base, elevating the flavor while making the dish less heavy. And thanks to the rigid leaf, you can eat it like hors d’oeuvres passed around a party — no need for salad forks and plates.
All about endives
One of the things you need to know about cooking with endives is that there are three varieties. Belgian endives are perhaps the most common, with a torpedo shape made of mostly white leaves. Broad-leafed endive is sometimes called “escarole.” It looks more like typical lettuce and is the least bitter endive variety, though it does have some of the Belgian version’s firmness.
On the other hand, curly endive is sometimes known as “frisée” and tastes much like Belgian endive, though it looks unkempt, like a frizzy head of hair. The limpness of its leaves also wouldn’t support a mouthful of Bourdain’s curry chicken salad, which would weigh too much thanks to its mayonnaise, fruit chutney, and chicken breast.
For a more modern twist on Bourdain’s classic recipe, you can borrow a tip from another leafy green. Just like how you can air fry romaine lettuce to make it extra crispy, you can also air fry your endives before topping them with chicken salad. This will somewhat mellow out the leaves’ bitterness, but the crunch should remain, now with a nice caramelization around the leaf edges.
