French · Dinner

Endives au Jambon

Chicory braised, wrapped in ham, covered in béchamel and baked. The bitterness of the chicory is the point and is usually mishandled.

1 hr 25 min total Serves 4 servings Easy
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Endives au Jambon

Photograph credit: Jielbeaumadier chicon au jambon maroilles 2010 by Jiel Beaumadier · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia · this resized copy is shared under the same licence

Endives au Jambon: Step by Step

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  1. Trim the chicory and cut a small cone out of the base of each, which is where most of the bitterness sits.

  2. Melt the butter in a wide pan, lay the chicory in it, and add the sugar, lemon, salt and water. Cover and braise 25 minutes, turning once, until completely tender.

  3. Lift them out and press them gently between two tea towels until they stop giving water. Be firm about this.

  4. Make the béchamel: melt the butter, stir in the flour, cook 3 minutes, then add the milk gradually, whisking. Cook 8 minutes until thick. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

  5. Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Wrap each chicory in a slice of ham and lay them in a buttered dish.

  6. Pour the béchamel over and scatter with the Gruyère.

  7. Bake 30 minutes, until browned and bubbling. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

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Keep an Eye on These

  1. Cut the cone out of the base — that is where the bitterness concentrates.
  2. Press the braised chicory dry or the dish floods.
  3. Sugar and lemon temper the bitterness rather than removing it.

A Little Background

The chicory has to be braised and then squeezed dry before it is wrapped, and skipping either step gives you a watery gratin swimming in liquid. Chicory holds a great deal of water and releases all of it in the oven. A pinch of sugar and a squeeze of lemon in the braising liquid tempers the bitterness without removing it — the aim is to make it pleasant, not to hide it, since bitterness is the reason the dish works against the ham and cream.

On the Table Alongside

Boiled potatoes · Green salad · A glass of Alsace white

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: French Baguette, Fougasse, French Lentils.

Keeping Endives au Jambon

Refrigerated for 3 days. Reheat at 180°C / 356°F for 20 minutes. It freezes for 2 months.

Endives au Jambon Nutrition

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.

601Calories
27gProtein
31gCarbs
41gFat
5gFibre
14gSugar
2090mgSodium

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Compiled by Turab

Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.

First published ; last changed .