These endive boats are a perfect salad to serve to guests or just for yourself to enjoy at home. Inspired by the famous Estela endive salad, this recipe combines so much flavour from the breadcrumb/walnut and cheese topping which is served alongside citrus forward endive cups. When you first see the dish as it’s presented, you may not think much of it. But the simple ingredients combine to make an outstanding salad that will leave you licking your plate and fighting over the last endive boat.

endive boats with filling underneath in bowl.

Estela Endive Salad

If you haven’t had the pleasure of dining at Estela in New York City, I would highly encourage you to go. It was by far one of my favourite meals while visiting, with every dish just being so damn good. One of their most famous dishes that’s always on the menu is their endive salad. When you first get the dish at your table, you’re likely a little skeptical. It looks like a giant pile of leaves (the endive). But once you start eating them, you’re amazed. And then you find the mixture at the bottom, what Estela refers to as the granola. It has SO much flavour. Before you know it, you’re asking your server more about this dish, and I mean, getting specific. Asking which cheeses are in there and making notes in your phone so you can recreate it at home. At least, that’s what we did (my husband and I). Upon returning home, we found out that there is an Estela cookbook! You know, we purchased it immediately. We’ve recreated the endive salad a few times since then and I’ve come up with my version which is very close to the original published in the book. I’ve added some chopped celery and changed the cheeses to make it a little easier to make at home.

It’s a crowd pleaser and it will definitely wow your tastebuds and impress whoever you serve it to. I hope you love these endive boats as much as we do!

Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need to make these endive cups.

sourdough bread
walnuts (raw)
garlic
anchovies
red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
Aleppo pepper
celery
Ubriaco di Rabosa cheese
Parmigiano Reggiano
endive
orange (zest and juice)
flaky salt

How to Make Endive Boats

Making this impressive endive salad appetizer at home is actually pretty easy and doesn’t require too many ingredients. Which is something I personally find so impressive after tasting it.

The first thing to do is prep the breadcrumb/walnut mixture and dressing that will get tossed in it.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Pour the bread onto a baking sheet and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with a pinch of salt, toss to combine. Add the walnuts to the same baking sheet just next to the bread.

Transfer to the oven and bake for eight to ten minutes, until the walnuts and bread are toasted. The walnuts should be done after eight minutes.

Toss the bread into a bowl and chop the walnuts into bite sized pieces and add to the bowl with the bread.

In a mortar and pestle, smash the garlic clove until broken up into chunks. Add the anchovies and pound until slightly chunky. Add the vinegar, olive oil, Aleppo pepper and a small pinch of salt. Set aside. The dressing will look chunky and loose, it’s all good!

dressing ingredients in mortar and pestle.

Add the celery, Ubriaco di Rabosa and shaved parmesan to the bowl with the bread.

Pour the garlic/anchovy dressing over the bread mixture and toss to combine. Let it sit while you make the endives.

Next up, prep the endives and assemble.

Cut an inch off the bottom of the endive and discard. Gently pull off the leaves, continuing to trim the bottom as needed to separate the leaves. Add the endive leaves to a large bowl. Cut the core in half lengthwise and add to to the bowl with the endive leaves. Wash the endive with water and pat dry with paper towel.

Zest the orange half over the endive cups and squeeze the orange juice over top. Season with a good pinch of salt.

Portion the bread/walnut mixture into a pasta bowl or serving dishes.

bread and walnut mixture in serving bowl.

Top with the endive cups and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on top. Garnish with parmesan shavings and flaky salt.

Serve, scooping the bread mixture into the endive cups as you go. Enjoy!

Tips

Chop the sourdough into bite sized pieces: you can either tear or chop the bread, just be sure it’s in bite sized pieces so you can fit it in the endive boats.
Prep ahead: you can prep the breadcrumb mixture and the dressing that goes on top of it in advance and then toss it together and let it sit for about five to ten minutes before assembling.
Salt as you go: one of the biggest tips I’ve learned from professional chefs is to season as you go. This means, seasoning the bread with salt before toasting and then seasoning the dressing to taste as well as the endive boats after tossing with the orange juice/zest. Flaky salt on top of everything at the end doesn’t hurt either.
Gently toss the endive: to avoid bruising the endive cups, gently toss them with the orange juice/zest.

Substitutions

Ubriaco di Rabosa: is an Italian semi-hard cheese prepared with either pasteurized or raw cow’s milk. It has a flavoured rind that’s washed in Rabosa grape must which helps develop it’s flavour and aroma. It’s really delicious and worth it if you can find it. If you can’t find it, opt for gouda, fontina or comté.
Parmigiano Reggiano: use pecorino instead and finely chop it the same as the Ubriaco.
No celery: celery isn’t traditionally in the Estela endive salad, so feel free to omit. I like the added crunch and green in here, but it’s fine to skip it if you don’t have it on hand.
Mortar and Pestle: if you don’t have one, just smash the garlic and anchovy with a pinch of salt and use the back of a knife to mash it into a chunky paste. I wouldn’t suggest using a blender or immersion blender as that will emulsify it and the dressing is supposed to be chunky and loose.
Aleppo pepper: this can be omitted or use regular red pepper flakes.

How to Serve

I love serving these endive boats in the same manner as Estela.

This means spooning the walnut/breadcrumb mixture into a pasta bowl (or serving bowl/dish) and then covering the mixture up with all the endive cups.

It makes for a beautiful presentation that’s also fun to eat.

Ingredients & Products I Recommend:

Kosher salt:

I exclusively use Diamond Crystal kosher salt for all of my recipes. I prefer the texture, taste and consistency of this brand and highly recommend it for everyday cooking.

Flaky salt:

I always, always have Maldon flaky salt on hand and add it to almost all of my dishes as a finishing salt. I can’t recommend this enough.

Aleppo pepper:

I love using Aleppo pepper in recipes because the flavour isn’t too strong or spicy. It’s one of my most used spices and I highly recommend it.

More Salads to Try

Ready to make this? Let’s go!

If you make these Estela inspired endive boats, please let me know by tagging me on Instagram, or leave a comment and/or review below!

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