Endive Spears Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, Thyme and Honey

Credit: Catherine Roscoe Barr

Be sure to make enough of this easy appetizer because once your guests have one, they won’t be able to stop!

Be sure to make enough of this easy appetizer because once your guests have one, they won’t be able to stop!

Endive is great for making bite-sized appetizers and a much healthier alternative to crackers

A few weeks ago we had dinner with my husband’s cousin and her husband on their rooftop patio in Kitsilano.

They’re a gorgeous couple who are expecting their first child this fall, and we can’t wait to meet their beautiful little baby.

I was in charge of bringing appetizers (and dessert – coming up in next week’s post) and I wanted to try making something with endive because I’d never tried to before.

This recipe was such a hit, but the only problem was that there wasn’t nearly enough! I only bought two endives, not knowing how many leaves they had.

Each endive yielded about six good leaves which left us with only three appetizers each. That sounds like enough but we all wanted more – they were really tasty!

Ingredients

Makes 12

• 2 endives
• 1/2 log goat cheese (I used Happy Days soft unripened plain Okanagan Goat Cheese)
• 6 walnuts, crushed
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and stems discarded
• 3 tsp liquid honey
• 1 tsp balsamic reduction (I love Nona Pia’s balsamic reduction)

Instructions

1. Cut bottom off each endive and retain all useable leaves.
2. Rinse and pat leaves dry, and arrange on serving platter.
3. Evenly distribute goat cheese into each leaf followed by thyme, walnuts, honey and balsamic reduction.