What is it?

Frisée is essentially baby curly endive. Its tender leaves are finer and its flavor is milder than its more mature cousin. It’s a favorite of French cooks for salads, especially when paired with a warm bacon vinaigrette.

Kitchen math:

1 large head = about 8 oz.

Don’t have it?

Substitute curly endive.

How to choose:

The stem end shouldn’t show signs of browning, nor should the outer leaves look wilted or have black tips. The pale center leaves are the best part, so choose a head with lots of them.

How to prep:

Wash well and spin dry. Tear into bite-size pieces.

How to store:

Store in the crisper drawer in your refrigerator and use within a few days.

Cross Reference

curly endive

Recipes

• 
  Recipe

  Radish, Celery, and Frisée Salad with Lemon-Cumin Vinaigrette

  This light, refreshing salad pairs perfectly with frittatas for breakfast or brunch, and rich stews or braises for dinner.

• 
  Recipe

  Salad of Frisée, Fuji Apple, and Marinated Beets

  The beet “noodles”—long, spaghetti-like strips of the root vegetable—are increasingly available at supermarkets and add to this salad’s festive feel.

• 
  Recipe

  Cider-Glazed Pork Belly and Brussels Sprouts

  This dish uses a classic flavor combination—pork, Brussels sprouts, and apples—in new ways. The pork is braised and glazed with cider for deep apple flavor and served over a Brussels…

• 
  Recipe

  Roasted Turnip, Beet, and Potato Salad with Hazelnuts

  Here's a winter salad that won't have you longing for summer. Whole parsley leaves add zip to the mix of greens, while roasted potatoes and root vegetables make it hearty…

• 
  Recipe

  Grilled Asparagus Salad with Burrata, Olives, and Croutons

  Burrata (a fresh Italian cheese similar to mozzarella but with a creamy center) is a velvety addition to this crisp salad. If you can’t find burrata, you can use fresh…

• 
  Recipe

  Warm Shrimp Salad with Honeydew and Feta

  This refreshing main course salad offers contrasts of all kinds—warm and cold, sweet and savory, herbal and spicy—but it’s the addition of cracked whole coriander seeds that really makes it…

• 
  Recipe

  Sardines Veracruz with Roasted Tomato Confit and Olive Tapenade

  If you’ve not tried them, fresh sardines are wonderful, a completely different animal than canned. This particular preparation of briny sardines shows them in their best light.If you have the…

• 
  Recipe

  Pecan, Radicchio, and Asian Pear Salad

  Crisp, juicy Asian pears play off the crunchy buttered and toasted pecans and tender bitter greens in this colorful salad. Roasted walnut oil adds a welcome richness.

• 
  Recipe

  Roasted Asparagus and Frisée Salad with Poached Eggs and Romesco Sauce

  Thin slices of Serrano ham and warm poached eggs turn this Spanish-inflected spring salad into dinner: the runny yolk becomes a rich dressing for the delicate frisée greens, and the…