Endive and Ham Gratin Recipe

Damián

11 years ago

One of the advantages of living in a small town like Grenoble is that you do not lose a lot of time in commuting. Or what is the same, I can meet friends afterwork to have a beer and go back home walking. Although this normally planned in advance since as opposite in Spain, here we do not improvise much what we are going to do the evening. For me it is even better, in the end you get used to plan everythin “à l’avance”, and you can anticipate something for dinner the day before. That way, when you get home you only need to warm and eat. One of the preparations I usually do in that situations is the endive gratin as leaving them to drain the water overnight they are better. Also, because I eatr them when they are stll hot which helps me to get warm after the walk.

Endive and Ham Gratin Recipe

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Serves: 4 Time: 1 h 30 m Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

2 endive per person
1 slice of cooked ham per endive
100 g of grated emmental cheese
1/2 lemon
For the bechamel
75 cl of milk
45 g of butter
45 g flour
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Directions

Bring 2 to 3 liters of water to a boil in a large pot. When the water boils, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the juice of half a lemon.
Remove the outside endive leaves and wash them under running cold water. Remove the part of the stem, without reaching the leaves (preventing them to get separated).
Boil the endives 10 to 20 minutes, or until tender . To check if the endives are tender, pierce them with a knife.
Drain well the endives, let them cool slightly and then gently press them to remove as much water as you can. You can even leet them draining for a while.
Prepare the bechamel sauce following directions here: bechamel recipe.
Mix half of the cheese with the bechamel still hot.
Roll each endive in a slice of ham.
Place the rolls on a baking pan, greased with a little of butter.
Cover the rolls with bechamel and sprinkle the remaining grated emmental.
Bake in preheated oven at 175 ° C , heat up and down, for about 20 minutes. Use the grill for the last 5 minutes until it is brow and gold to your liking.

Hints, Tips, and Tricks

Always wash with cold water the endives, otherwise they could get black.
Add a teaspoon of sugar to the cooking water to reduce the bitterness of the endives.
You can boil the endives the day before (and also prepare the bechamel). If we choose this option, you can store the endives in the fridge. I put them upside down in a large bowl with a strainer inside so they do not touch the bottom, and I cover them with plastic wrap.

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