Belgian Endive and Ham Gratin

If you know anything about me, I don’t take the easy way out. It would be so typical to say “ok, next up is Belgium - I’ll make some Belgian waffles.” I usually like to go about 3 or 4 meals deep before tackling the low-hanging fruit. So, I found an interesting dish to make for today’s opponent. Was it delicious? For the most part, yes! Would I make it again? Probably not. It’s a bit of work and while the endive is tasty, the bechamel sauce didn’t add much to the overall dish. Braised endive is pretty tasty. I think just eating it that way would be tasty, albeit slightly bitter, on its own merits. Anyway, let’s hope this propels USA to the quarterfinals!

Belgian Endive and Ham Gratin

Endive

• 5 or 6 Belgian endive

• 3 tbsp butter

• 6 thinly shaved slices of quality deli ham

Bechamel

• 1 stick of butter

• ⅓ cup of flour

• Quart of whole milk

• Nutmeg

• ½ lb of gruyere, shredded

Prepare the endive. Peel away any loose or discolored leaves from the heads of endive. 

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the endive, in a single layer, rolling it around in the butter. 

Season with salt and pepper, adding enough water to amount to a ¼ inch in the pan. 

Cover and cook for 15 minutes. 

After 15 minutes, flip the endive, season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes. 

Once cooked, remove the endive and set them in a colander to drain with the root end up to allow water to escape the endive. 

While the endive braises, prepare the bechamel by adding the milk to a saucepan set over medium-high heat and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While the milk warms, melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. 

When the butter has melted, add in the flour and whisk until combined and cook for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally and ensuring the roux doesn’t get too dark. 

Once the milk looks like it’s about to boil, turn off the heat and add it to the pot with the simmering roux. Whisk vigorously to incorporate, then allow it to return to a boil. 

Reduce the heat to low and whisk occasionally to ensure it doesn’t scald on the bottom of the pot and no lumps form, cooking for about 10 minutes to reduce and further thicken. 

Season the bechamel with salt and a dash of nutmeg, and whisk in ⅔ of the shredded cheese until smooth. Then remove from the heat. 

Once the roux is finished, remove the endive from the colander and give a light shake. PLace a piece of ham on a work surface. Place an endive on the edge of the ham and roll the ham around the endive. 

Repeat with remaining endive and place into a small buttered casserole dish. Pour 2 cups of the bechamel over the ham-wrapped endive, then cover with the remaining shredded cheese. 

Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is browned and the sides are bubbling. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then serve. 

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