Berries are one of my go-to snacks. I often incorporate strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries into my breakfasts. And berries in desserts make me oh-so happy. But I have to be honest. I have been longing to try to incorporate fresh berries into my main meals, and I am not just talking about eating them on the side or eating pancakes for dinner. Nope. I wanted to attempt to be fancy and actually cook with them.
Whether or not I succeeded is still yet to be determined. They certainly are pretty though, right? (don’t answer that if you disagree)
And, as it turns out, they pair quite well with a new-to-me vegetable: endive.
Endive is somewhat of a funny looking vegetable, but the colors sure are vibrant and attractive. And if that has not convinced you enough to give endive a try, then maybe the nutritional benefits will. Endive is an excellent source of calcium, vitamins, and minerals, it contains a high amount of fiber, it promotes digestive health, and one leaf contains only one calorie. Possibly most impressive is the fact that eating one cup of raw endive per week can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by 75% (source). Pretty amazing, right?
Now if you are wondering how you should go about eating this raw veggie, I highly recommend adding it to smoothies and serving it in the form of a salad. It is National Salad Month, after all, so what could be more fitting?
I have tried it in smoothies and you could not even taste it, but for this recipe I decided to go with the salad theme and made two salads in one. A chickpea and raspberry salad served within the endive salad leaves. Because you can never have too much salad.
Chickpea and Raspberry Salad Endive Boats
Serves: 2 as an appetizer or 1 as an entree
Ingredients
2/3 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 stalk celery, diced
1 TB dried chopped onion
2 TB vegan mayonaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
fine sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
10 fresh Driscoll’s raspberries, halved
8 to 10 California endive leaves
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients except for the raspberries and endive in a medium bowl and stir until well-combined.
2. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
3. Just before serving, genthly fold in the sliced raspberries.
4. Serve the salad in endive leaves.
This is such a simple appetizer or lunch to throw together in under 10 minutes. You cannot beat that, right? Just prep this up an hour or so before and you are good to go when lunch time rolls around.
If you are a chickpea salad lover like I am, do yourself a favor and add a little hint of sweetness next time.
For more endive recipes click here, and for more berrie recipes click here. I think we all need a plethora of endive, berries, and salads in our lives, don’t you?
Disclaimer: I was provided with free product from California Endive and Driscoll’s Berries, but was not compensated in any other way. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
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Looks very delicious! I actually prefer berries in my smoothies or desserts unless they are dried, but this looks good. I really love that chickpea salad recipe and want to try it sometime!
Thank you! Yes, chickpea salads are seriously amazing vegan alternatives to chicken or tuna salad. Let me know if you try it!
I’m yet to try endive but you are making me very curious to want to put some in my smoothies now 😉 Also of course try out these cute endive boats too.
Yes… it is CRAZY the things that you can sneak into smoothies! 😉
Trying a new veggie + getting fruit into lunch/dinner? Sign me up! This sounds so delicious and I’m beyond guilty of getting fruit worked into my breakfast, and then forgetting about it the rest of the day (unless I’m reaching for a snack).
Berries are SO easy for breakfast…. and then I sort of forget about them again until make a bedtime snack. Eating them for lunch was a nice treat 🙂
These are so creative! I love the touch of raspberries on there! Ya know, I don’t think I’ve ever had an endive, which is pretty hard to believe. I definitely need to change that asap!
I don’t think that a lot of people have. It is sort of one of those vegetables that you see at the grocery store and wondering..hmm, what is that and what can I do with it? Luckily they have a TON of awesome recipes on their site for some ideas!
I received these too and can’t wait to try out your recipe- you are always so creative! And adding them in smoothies?! Would’ve never thought to do that!
Thanks Katie! And yes…it is crazy what you can hide in smoothies!! 😉
So creative and so pretty!!
Thank you Katie! It is always nice to eat pretty foods 🙂
How fun are these!! I’ve been obsessed with raspberries lately and you KNOW how much this girl likes her chickpeas.
You and me both!! 😉
Love this! I am a huge fan of putting berries in my main meals – that sweet and savory thing I guess : ) These look awesome – perfect for a quick meal for lunch or even dinner!
Thank you Ashley!! I am glad that you are on board with the sweet/savory meal thing too 🙂
Sounds delicious! And it’s very pretty with the pops of red raspberry 🙂
Thank you Jaclyn! It is so nice when food not only tastes good but LOOKS good 😉
These look so delicate and delicious. I love the simplicity paired with the bright berry hue.
Endive is underrated in my opinion; I rarely use it, but I’ve made similar boats (but with chicken salad). And I agree that berries are one of the best snacks/toppings. I need to try this salad.
This was definitely the first time that I had eaten endive in this form, but I really liked it. And after looking over all of the recipe ideas on their website, I definitely agree that it is quite underrated.
What a UNIQUE recipe! I LOVE it! I have never actually eaten endives before! I must try this.
Yes, you totally should! Gotta love when you come across new veggies, right? 🙂
What a great use of the berries you were sent and such a pretty dish!! Almost too pretty to eat 🙂
Thanks so much, Ashley!! And yes, I love when food turns out extra pretty… but nothing is ever to pretty to eat. I like food way too much 😉 haha
This is so creative! I would have never thought to combine raspberries and chickpeas. Must try.
Thanks so much! I am guilty of thinking that pretty much anything is good with chickpeas, but I must say that I really liked the sweet/savory combo with this one. Plus it was super fresh/light!