Chicory gratin
Prep
15 mins
Cook
1 hr 25 mins
Servings
8
Difficulty
Hard
This chicory gratin is one of my favorite weeknight dishes because it comes together so easily despite looking fancy enough for company. Chicory is wonderfully bitter and packed with inulin, a prebiotic fiber that's brilliant for your digestive health. The creamy cheese sauce transforms the slightly earthy vegetables into something utterly comforting, and honestly, most of the cooking time is just the oven doing the work while you relax. It's budget friendly too since chicory is inexpensive and you probably have most of these pantry staples on hand already. About ninety minutes from start to table gives you a stunning vegetable side dish that feels like a real treat.
Ella x
Ingredients
- 4 tbspolive oil
- 100 gramsunsalted butter
- 250 gramschicory(halved lengthways)
- 1cayenne pepper
- ½whole nutmeg(for grating)
- 4 tbspplain flour
- 4bay leaves
- 60 mlsdry white wine
- 500 mlswhole milk
- 200 mlsdouble cream
- 4 clove/sgarlic(crushed)
- 2 tbspdijon mustard
- 30 gramsparmigiano reggiano(grated)
- 30 gramscheddar cheese(Cheddar, grated)
Detail level
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Heat the oil and 50g butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the halved chicory heads in batches, cut-side down, for 5-7 minutes until golden brown. Carefully transfer, cut-side up, to a large gratin dish (about 20cm x 30cm). Season with salt, a couple of good pinches of cayenne pepper and generous gratings of nutmeg.
- 2
Add the remaining 50g butter to the frying pan over a medium heat. Once melted, stir in the flour and bubble for a couple of minutes. Add the bay leaves and gradually stir in the wine until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth, followed by the cream. Bring to a simmer, then bubble for about 5 minutes until thickened, stirring often.
- 3
Remove the pan from the heat, then add the garlic, mustard and three quarters of the combined cheeses; stir for a minute until the cheese has melted, then season.
- 4
Pour the sauce over the chicory and sprinkle with the remaining cheese, plus a pinch more cayenne. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 15-20 minutes more, or until bubbling and golden. Leave to stand for 5-10 minutes before serving with crusty bread and a well-dressed green salad, if liked.
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