In northern Europe, notably Switzerland, the greens of chard, chicory and curly endive are often discarded, as it’s the crisp stems that are prized. There’s no need to waste either part of these tasty, healthy vegetables. Use the greens in a soup, pie, salad, pasta or the delicious chicory in olive oil dish in the video below – then turn the stems into a delicious side dish like this chicory gratin baked in a creamy, cheese-topped béchamel sauce. If you don’t have leek, use a large, chopped onion and add a few chopped green onions if you have them. You can cook the vegetables in the white sauce, top with cheese and then refrigerate until ready to bake. This recipe is easy to double or triple to feed a crowd. Juniper Estate Cornerstone Karridale chardonnay from Margaret River is buttery enough to marry with the cheesey gratin, and has a lovely line of acid to cut through its richness.
Serves 2 as a side dish
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Yes and no. Witlof (called Belgian endive in the US and chicory in the UK) and leafy chicory are both varieties of the same species, Cichorium intybus, but they look and cook very differently. Witlof is forced and blanched underground to produce a pale, compact, slightly bitter chicon with crisp leaves. Leafy chicory (cicoria in Italian) is grown for its green leaves and stems, which are used in salads, soups, pasta and gratins like this one. Curly endive (Cichorium endivia) is a separate but closely related species in the same genus. The confusion is compounded by different English-speaking countries using different names — what Australians call witlof, the British call chicory, and Americans call Belgian endive. The chicory referred to in this recipe is the leafy green that the Italians call cicoria.
Béchamel is a classic white sauce made from butter, flour and milk. It’s one of the fundamental sauces of European cooking, used as the base for gratins, lasagne and many other baked dishes. In this chicory gratin the béchamel is enriched with leek and topped with freshly grated Gruyere or Comté before baking until bubbling and golden.
In northern Europe, the crisp stems of leafy greens such as chicory, curly endive and chard are prized while the leaves are often discarded — though there’s no need to waste either part. Use the leaves in a soup, pie, salad or pasta, then turn the stems into a gratin like this one. Note that witlof (called Belgian endive in the US and chicory in the UK) is a different but related variety often used in gratins — most famously the Belgian classic chicons au gratin — though it’s cooked whole rather than just the stems.
