Hello, friends! For anyone new, “Lately on Instagram” is a series where I summarize what’s been happening in my kitchen lately, with posts revolving around larger themes such as meal prep, summer flavors, or high-vibrational foods. Today, it’s all about introducing new, french ingredients into my kitchen.

It’s hard to believe I’m currently hovering right around the half-way point of my 8-month stint here in France. In some respects, it feels like I just arrived, jet-lagged, disheveled, and sweaty after hauling two obscenely large suitcases across town. But then I think about all the people I have met, the things I have learned, the food I have tasted, and the the cities I have travelled to. I think about all this and it feels like I’ve been here for FAR longer than 4 months and that maybe, just maybe, I’m not a tourist anymore. Or at least less like a tourist than I was in September.

As the time passes faster than I thought possible, I realize how important it is to savor every. last. flavor. of my time here. So I’ve set a challenge for myself:

Every week, I will purchase and experiment with at least one ingredient that I’ve never cooked with before.

This is not to say I haven’t tried new foods since arriving (case in point: persimmons). However, I often find myself reverting to flavors and ingredients I am comfortable with and understand, which is okay – except if it means closing myself off to a wide variety of local produce that, while less familiar, may prove to be a pleasant surprise.

So today at the market, I purchased endives.

Although I have tasted endives before, they never make it onto my grocery list or catch my eye at the store. Here in France, however, they are everywhere. So I thought, why not?

My first thought was to eat them raw in a salad. After roughly chopping one endive, I added celery, celery greens, and apple slices with a light apple cider vinegar/dijon mustard/olive oil dressing.

Next, it was time to roast. Inspired by Food 52’s recipe, I cut one endive in half length-wise, drizzled it with olive oil and roasted it face-down for 25 minutes until tender and slightly browned. I found that roasting brings out a fuller, sweeter flavor to contrast the usual bitterness of the vegetable. It was tender and, with a drizzle of apple cider vinegar/dijon mustard dressing (can you tell I love mustard?) and coarsely chopped almonds, it made the perfect side dish.

Next up: white bean and endive soup. Sounds HEAVENLY, right?

What is your favorite way to eat endives? Spread the social media love by commenting, sharing, and checking out one taste at a time’s instagram for more.