Festive + light holiday appetizers that will leave you with room for dessert! Sesame tuna tartare + lemony white bean puree are delicious on endive leaves.
appetizers / gluten free / holidayEndive… the perfect holiday party snack when it’s time to start laying off the bread already. As the holiday season comes to a close, I’m starting to crave foods that are lighter and brighter.
I decided to make two of my favorite appetizers (that I love atop toasty crostini)… and serve in crispy endive leaves instead. The first is a super easy sesame tuna tartare. And because parties always need vegetarian options, the second is a lemony white bean puree.
But let’s face it, my favorite thing about skipping the bread is that I can endlessly snack away and still have room for dessert. Balance…
Special thanks to the California Endive Farms for the giant box of endive. (All opinions in this post are my own).
Festive Endive Appetizers

- 1 cup cooked white beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- Zest & juice of 1 lemon
- Sea salt and fresh black pepper
- A few pinches of red pepper flakes, for garnish
- Chopped chives, for garnish
- Endive, for serving
- 6 oz piece of sushi-grade tuna, salted, seared & chopped into pieces (yield ½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ cup chopped scallions
- Sprinkling of sesame seeds, for garnish
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for searing tuna
- Endive, for serving
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