Chicory - a great winter vegetable
Consumer prices for fresh vegetables have gone up significantly everywhere. The reason for this is extreme weather conditions in southern Europe, as most of the vegetables come from Italy, Spain, Greece and France, where lately flooding, heavy snowfall and hail have destroyed large parts of the fruit and vegetable crops. Therefore, one should rather resort to local vegetables, such. As white or red cabbage, carrots or chicory, these have hardly or not so much more expensive. But not only for this reason, this is recommended!
Chicory for example, is a classic winter vegetables, which is grown seasonally in the field with us. The fields are covered with nets and tarpaulins, because chicory must grow in the dark. Most chicory is bred in dark, air-conditioned rooms, so you can buy this delicate leaf salad from us all year round in the supermarket.
The nutritional value of chicory
Chicory contains valuable bitter substances (Intybin or Lactucopikrin), which are not only good for the stomach, but also have a supporting effect on digestion. They stimulate pancreas and bile, which are responsible for the production of important enzymes and hormones that allow substances to be absorbed from food. Furthermore, these bitter substances also reduce blood sugar and relieve pain.
In addition, chicory is also rich in fiber and inulin (a kind of sugar from sucrose and fructose molecules), which are said to prevent gastrointestinal diseases and colon cancer.
Other ingredients are
- 1.3 g of protein
- 0.2 g fat
- 0.6 mg of vitamin A.
- 10 mg of vitamin C
- 0.2 mg niacin
- 192 mg of potassium
- 26 mg of calcium
- 4 mg of sodium
- 26 mg phosphorus
Since chicory is particularly low in fat - 100 grams of which have only 16 calories, of which 94.4% are water - it is often used in diets.
Incidentally, the chicory root was formerly also used to make a coffee-like beverage, the chicory coffee.
The preparation of chicory
Most chicory is freshly prepared as a raw salad. But since it tastes more or less bitter with its bitter substances, it is spurned by many. But that's no reason, because with a dressing of fruit juice, with oranges or mandarins, lemon juice and a little honey you can soften the bitter taste of this very healthy vegetable.
Chicory - cooked
Cooking is the quickest way to cook the chicory. Salt water is brought to a boil in a saucepan and the chicory cooked in it for about 5 minutes, then poured off and quenched with cold water. Then you can add fresh herbs, some salt and nutmeg and a little olive oil.
Chicory - steamed
By stewing at low temperature, the chicory is nice and tender and he hardly loses its good ingredients. For this he is washed, freed from the stalk, cut into small pieces, placed in a saucepan or a deep pan and drizzled with a little fresh lemon juice, so the leaves remain light green and do not gray during cooking. Now the vegetables are half covered with water and brought to the boil with the lid closed. Let it simmer for 15 minutes over moderate heat, then take off the lid and let it cook for about 5 minutes until the remaining water has evaporated.
Chicory - fried
For this, the chicory is washed and halved, then the stem is cut out. In a pan, some olive oil is heated, then the halves are roasted from each side for about 4 to 5 minutes. This gives the chicory a slightly nutty note.
You can cut the chicory but also small and then simmer for 5 to 6 minutes in a little butter, then it tastes particularly delicious!
Chicory - baked
To bake the chicory is washed, halved and freed from the stalk. Then you fill the halves z. For example, with minced meat, salmon, shrimp o. Ä., Place them in a greased casserole, pour over a yoghurt sauce and garden them covered for about 45 minutes over medium heat in the oven. Then the cover is removed, grated cheese sprinkled over it and the stuffed chicory baked over a high heat for another 5 minutes.
But you can also pluck the leaves individually. Drizzled with a little oil, they are baked for about 25 minutes at 180 degrees in a preheated oven.
So cooked, the chicory tastes good as a vegetable garnish or in a casserole. When baking it is very soft and tender and loses its bitter note almost completely.
What must be considered when buying?
Care should be taken that the stalk is not dry or brown and the leaves should not be withered. The tubers should be firm and the leaves as bright as possible. In no case may they have a strong green color, otherwise they contain a very high content of bitter substances.
The size of the tubers depends on the use: For a salad, it is best to take smaller tubers, because they have less bitter substances and for baking or filling, the larger ones are better suited.
The right storage of chicory
So that the bitter taste is not strengthened and the chicory remains fresh as long as possible, it must be stored dark and cool. It is best to wrap it in some kitchen paper and store it in a plastic bag in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. So he stays fresh for about 4 days.
