Belgian creamy Endive Bake

With lots of grated Gryêre.

I call this vegetable Chicory. Endive in German is a very different kind. A huge green and yellow head of salad. Often favoured by slugs in the garden.

After coming back from Spa Francorchamps I looked through Pinterest for typical Belgian food.

What comes to mind instantly are Waffles, Fries and Chocolate. And I know beef goulash with dark Belgian beer and Moules Frites.

But that was more or less my knowledge of Belgian food. But now I have more. A list of the best 10 dishes.

Recipe for 2:

3 heads of endive/chicory

6 slices cooked ham

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup endive cooking water

100 g Gryêre 

Salt, pepper, nutmeg, vegetable seasoning, Piment d'Espelette

20 g breadcrumbs

1 tbsp olive oil

Cut off the dark end of the endive and toss outer leaves if they are bad. Put them in a pot of boiling salted water and blanche 5 min. Drain and squeeze the water out.

Tip: since they are hot, use a colander and a big spoon to press out the water. Then use tongs to hold them to cut through the middle. 

Preheat the oven 190 C.

Wrap in a slice of ham and set them in a baking dish.

Grate the Gryêre.

Use the pot to melt butter in and stir in flour to cook out. Add milk and cooking water and stir until they are no more lumps. Add 2/3 of the cheese and the spices.

Mix 1/3 of the cheese with the breadcrumbs and add olive oil. Put that on top of the endive.

Bake at 190 C for 35 min.