Grated chicory with ham and cheese

That face!

you make when you eat something bitter!

Chicory is generally a bitter vegetable. By removing the inner part and cooking it, the bitter taste softens.

Belgium was the biggest exporter of chicory, but today France is. The technique for growing these white endives was discovered in Belgium. This is why chicory also is known as Belgian endive, or as we call them in Belgium: "Brussels Lof".

Chicory can be eaten cooked or raw. It is perfect to use in a salad or as a salad! But also cooked, it is a nice vegetable, caramelized or braised for example. 

A recipe I like with chicory is grated with ham and cheese. This is how I learned to eat chicory as a child. Thank you ham and cheese!

Grated chicory with ham and cheese

Ingredients:

• 3 heads of white chicory 
• 6 slices of cooked ham (make sure they're big enough to wrap around ½ chicory)
• 250-300 gr of grated cheese
• 7 dl milk
• 30 gr butter
• 40 gr flour
• nutmeg
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

Cut the chicory heads in two and remove the hard end (make sure to remove the hard end by cutting in a V-shape, this will keep the leaves together). Take a large casserole and braise the chicory for about 10 minutes. In the meantime you can prepare the béchamel sauce.

Start by melting your butter, when it has melted add the flour and mix until you get a nice paste. This is called roux. Now gently pour on the milk, little by little, until you get a liquid sauce.

Mix in almost all of the cheese, you'll need some cheese to spread on top afterwards.

Roll the chicory in the cooked ham, place in an oven tray and pour over the béchamel cheese sauce. Finish with the rest of the grated cheese and put under a grill for about 10 minutes, until you have a nice golden-brown crust.

Serve with some bread or potatoes!

Enjoy!

November 30, 2013