← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 8 Belgian endives (chicory)
• 20 g butter, for braising
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 8 slices cooked ham
• 40 g butter, for the sauce
• 40 g Plain (all-purpose) flour
• 600 ml Milk
• a grating of nutmeg
• 150 g Gruyère or Comté, grated
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Trim the endive bases and cut a small cone out of each root end to reduce bitterness. Melt the butter in a wide pan, add the endives, lemon juice, sugar, a pinch of salt and 3 tbsp water. Cover and braise over low heat for 25 min, turning once, until very tender.
2. Lift the endives into a colander and gently squeeze out as much liquid as you can; this keeps the sauce from going watery.
3. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F). For the béchamel, melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk gradually. Simmer for 5 min, stirring, until thick. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir in half the cheese.
4. Wrap each endive in a slice of ham and lay them snugly in a buttered baking dish. Pour over the sauce and scatter with the rest of the cheese.
5. Bake for 20–25 min until bubbling and golden on top. Rest for 5 min before serving with bread or boiled potatoes.

Tips

• Squeezing the braised endives really matters: they hold a surprising amount of water.
• Make it vegetarian by skipping the ham and adding a little more cheese.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

La Cuisine de Géraldine BBC Food