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    Chicory with ham and cheese sauce

    witloof met hesp en kaassaus / chicons au gratin

    Belgium's comfort dish: heads of witloof (Belgian endive) braised in butter, rolled in cooked ham, covered with a cheese sauce and browned in the oven, served with mashed potatoes. Jeroen Meus's recipe, with Escoffier's method for braising the chicory white.

    Two braised Belgian endives wrapped in ham beneath browned cheese sauce, served with mashed potatoes on a white plate.
    Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.
    Servings
    4
    Preparation
    25 min
    Cooking
    1 h
    Total
    1 h 25
    Difficulty
    Moderate

    Equipment

    • Wide pan with a lid or a round of baking paper
    • Saucepan and whisk; ovenproof dish
    • Pot and masher for the potatoes
    Servings4

    Ingredients

    • Witloof

    • Cheese sauce

    • Topping

    • Mash

    Shopping list

    Method

    1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, drain, and mash with the egg yolk, a knob of butter, a splash of milk, salt and nutmeg.

      Timer · 20 min20:00

    2. Put the witloof in a pan with a knob of butter and a splash of water and bring to the boil. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, cover with a round of baking paper and cook gently until tender and lightly coloured.

      Why Escoffier braises witloof in butter, water, salt and lemon for 30–35 minutes after boiling, and warns never to blanch it in water first: it would turn watery and bitter.

      Timer · 30 min30:00

    3. Drain the witloof very well in a sieve, keeping the cooking liquid. Roll each head in a slice of ham.

      Why Water left in the witloof seeps into the sauce in the oven and can make it split.

    4. Melt the 40 g butter, stir in the flour to a roux, then whisk in the milk. Bring to the boil and melt in the cheeses. Season with pepper, salt, nutmeg, lemon and mustard, and stir in the witloof cooking liquid.

      Timer · 10 min10:00

    5. Heat the oven to 200 °C with the grill. Lay the rolls in the dish, cover with the sauce, scatter the extra Emmental over and bake 25 minutes until golden. Serve with the mash.

      Timer · 25 min25:00

    To drink & serve with

    • Stoemp

      Mash is the usual partner; a stoemp works too.

    Substitutions

    • Ham → Leave it out for a vegetarian gratin (Escoffier's endives à la Mornay are made without ham).
    • Plain flour (gluten-free) → Thicken the milk with cornflour slaked in cold milk.

    Common mistakes

    • Not draining the witloof well: the sauce splits and the dish is watery.
    • Blanching the witloof in boiling water: it turns bitter and soggy.

    Storage & reheating

    The assembled dish can be cooled, refrigerated and baked the next day, or frozen. Refrigerated leftovers keep 2 days; reheat until piping hot.

    Safety

    Contains gluten, milk, egg (in the mash) and mustard.

    Allergens

    Gluten · Milk · Egg · Mustard

    Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

    Brussels chicory

    Witloof, chicon in Brussels and Wallonia and Belgian endive in English, is a forced chicory with pale, tightly closed leaves. Escoffier already called it chicorée de Bruxelles in 1903 and gave it a section of its own, including endives baked under Mornay (cheese) sauce. Rolled in ham and gratinéed, it became a Belgian family dish; Jeroen Meus's version is the one given here.

    [1][2]

    Braise, drain, gratinate

    Escoffier's rule for witloof is to braise it directly in butter, a little water, lemon and salt, never blanching it first, so that it stays white. Meus braises it gently under paper until it colours lightly. The essential step is draining: the heads hold a lot of liquid, which would thin the cheese sauce in the oven.

    [1][2]

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