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Jammy Blue Cheese & Almond Endive Appetizer Bites

These Jammy Blue Cheese & Almond Endive appetizer bites are the quickest, easiest, freshest, fanciest cheese tasting bites for your next party. This simple bite has it all – it’s a little creamy, savory, sweet, nutty, crunchy, fresh, and light. Better yet, they come together in minutes from a few ingredients, look beautiful, and are low carb, keto, and gluten free – an appetizer everyone can enjoy!

VEGETARIAN ✓ LOW CARB ✓ KETO ✓ GLUTEN-FREE ✓

VegetarianLow Carb“Keto"Gluten-Free


The ingredients for endive appetizer bites

Using just five ingredients and about fifteen minutes of your time, these endive bites are so easy to put together. Fresh endive, blue cheese, marcona almonds, jam, and fresh rosemary pair beautifully. For the endive, I chose Red Belgian Endive. I love the beautiful color of this leaf – but any color will do. Read on for more details about the ingredients, or jump to the recipe to get right to it.

What is the best Blue Cheese?

The beauty of these appetizer bites is that they are perfect to use for cheese tastings. Which is ideal because the short answer here is that the best blue comes down to your taste. There are many varieties of blue cheese and they vary greatly in taste and texture. The earliest versions of blue cheese were produced in France (Roquefort) and Italy (Gorgonzola). The style later moved throughout Europe and England (Stilton) and finally to North America. The texture and flavor can range from crumbly, salty, and sharp to soft, creamy, and earthy.

Types Of Blue Cheese

  • Roquefort – Origin: France // Sheep’s milk // Moist, crumbly, aromatic, sweet, creamy, intense, complex.
  • Gorgonzola – Origin: Italy // Cow’s milk // Younger versions: soft, buttery, creamy with lighter hints of blue – Older versions: Stronger, earthier, sharper.
  • Stilton – Origin: England // Cow’s milk // Crumbly, salty with a rich, creamy, nutty flavor.
  • Danablu – Origin: Denmark // Cow’s milk // Creamy and smooth, sharp, salty.
  • Double Cream Blue – Origin: Various // Cow’s milk and cream // A creamy interior and a bloomy rind. Soft, creamy, sweet, with hints of blue.
  • Natural Rind // Origin: Various //

For this recipe I used Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm, here in Vermont. This past December, I had the pleasure of taking an artisanal cheese course with Jasper Hill. Over the course of the month I got to see behind the scenes of their cheesemaking process, tour the caves, learn more about their mission, and happily take part in multiple tastings and pairings of their extraordinary cheeses. Bayley Hazen has been a favorite of mine for a while and one that I often include on a cheese board.

Jasper Hill Farm describes the flavor profile of their Bayley Hazen Blue as “Peppery, Anise, Grassy, With An Umami Roast Beef Backbone“. It is indeed complex and evolves, which is why I love it, and love it for these bites. As you chew, the flavor evolves and hits different notes, especially with the jam, nut, and herbal ingredients. If you make this – let me know which type of blue cheese you use!

The benefits of endive

Endive has become one of my go-to additions to cheese boards and appetizer dips. It is essentially one of my favorite alternatives to chips for low carb, keto, and gluten free eaters. Not only does it look beautiful but it can hold its own and retain its shape – acting as a perfect vehicle for stuffed bites or to scoop dips and spreads.

Endive is part of the chicory family and is native to France, where it is a common cooked vegetable in the winter and spring months, integral to dishes such as Endive Au Gratin and Braised Endive. Packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients., it supports digestive health. It is rich in potassium, folate, and Vitamin K. Endive is made up of 90% water and is low in fat, calories, and has almost no net carbs. One cup has 0.1 grams! So each of these leaves has barely a trace.


An ad for Spalted Maple Baguette Boards which are shown serving these Jammy Blue Cheese & Almond Endive Appetizer Bites and are available in my store.
An ad for Cherry Fennel Sherry Honey Jam which is used in this recipes and available at my store.

How to assemble endive appetizer bites

The best part about these appetizer bites is that they are so quick to prepare. First, rinse the endive. Peel off any bruised or brown leaves. Then snap off the leaves one by one and lay them out on a serving platter. Alternately, you can slice through the bottom of the endive, discarding the end, and create all the pieces at once. Choose only large leaves which are big enough to hold the ingredients. Next, add a dollop of jam to all the endive leaves. Follow with a chunk of the blue cheese of your choice (let me know which you picked!) Then top with a Marcona almond and a sprig of rosemary. That’s it!

If you make these Jammy Blue Cheese & Almond Endive Bites be sure to leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you. And if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see!

How To Make: Jammy Blue Cheese & Almond Endive Bites


Reviews

Ingredients:

Adjust Servings
2 Medium Endives Estimate about 4-6 leaves per person.
4 Ounces Blue Cheese, Cut into Cubes
Cherry Fennel Sherry Honey Jam, or substitute Try a cherry or a fig jam to substitute.
A Few Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
1/4 Cup Marcona Almonds One Almond Per Endive Leaf
Nutritional Information
9.8 Grams Net Carbs
6.4 Grams Protein
8.2 Grams Fat
142 Calories

Directions

1.
Prepare the endive.
Rinse the endive. Peel off any bruised or brown leaves. Then snap off the leaves one by one and lay them out on a serving platter. Alternately, you can slice through the bottom of the endive, discarding the end, and create all the pieces at once. Choose only large leaves which are big enough to hold the ingredients.
Mark as complete
2.
Add the jam.
Add a dollop of jam to all the endive leaves. (Note: the jam is where the carbs are coming from in this recipe, so if you are watching your carbs, be mindful. Check your jam label for a more exact carb count.)
Mark as complete
3.
Add the blue cheese.
Next to the jam, add a piece of the blue cheese. I pressed the cheese into the jam to secure it.
Mark as complete
4.
Finish with a fresh rosemary.
Top with a couple leaves of fresh rosemary to garnish and add a hint of fresh, herbal flavor.
Mark as complete

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