Oh endive, how I've never used you...

Looking through one of my Cooking Light cookbooks I found a recipe that I thought I would try. It was a simple appetizer/salad option that included endive leaves which I'd never used before. If you want a small bite sized dish with tons of flavor this is it!

Endive Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Walnuts


Ingredients:
1/2 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tbsp. honey (divided)
Cooking Spray
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. orange juice
16 Belgian endive leaves (about 2 heads)
16 small orange sections (about 2 naval oranges)
1/3 c. crumbled goat cheese
1 tbsp. minced fresh chives
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper


Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine walnuts and 1 tbsp. honey - spread onto cooking spray coated baking sheet and bake for 10 min. stirring after 5 minutes.
3. Combine 1 tbsp. honey, vinegar and orange juice in small saucepan. Bring to boil and cook until thickened.
4. Fill each endive leaf with 1 orange section. Top with 1 tsp. cheese and 1 tsp. walnuts. Drizzle vinegar mixture evenly over leaves and sprinkle with chives and pepper. 
8 servings of 2 leaves each.


FYI: Endive only has a shelf life of 2 or 3 days after you purchase then it starts to get dark and even more bitter. So, it's something that you buy the day of or day before you need to use it.