Baked chicory gratin

This gratinated chicory is a classic side dish for the colder months. The slightly bitter chicory is first gently boiled in fragrant cooking water with lemon and mace, then gratinated in the oven with cream, nutmeg and cheese. Delicious with a piece of meat, for example braised beef, but also with a simple pork chop or meatball.

Serves: 4
Preparation: approx. 15 minutes
Cooking: approx. 25 minutes
Total time: approx. 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 heads of chicory
• 2 mace blades
• 1 lemon
• approx. 200 ml cooking cream
• 75–100 g grated cheese for gratinating
• small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• a little butter or oil to grease the oven dish

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 190–200 °C (conventional heat).
• Lightly grease an oven dish, in which the 4 halved heads of chicory fit exactly next to each other, with butter or oil.
• Cut the lemon into quarters.
• Clean the chicory. Remove any ugly outer leaves. Carefully cut out the hard, bitter core at the base in a small cone shape with a small knife.

Method

1. Boil the chicory
   Bring a large pan of plenty of water to the boil. Add the lemon quarters and the mace blades and season the water with salt and a little pepper. Add the heads of chicory to the boiling water and cook for approx. 10–12 minutes until just tender. Check with the tip of a knife; it should go in easily, but the chicory should still have a little firmness.
2. Drain and let drain well
   Drain the chicory in a colander and briefly rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Leave to drain well, then gently squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the heads.
3. Place the chicory in the oven dish
   Cut the chicory in half lengthways. Place the halved heads in the greased oven dish with the cut side up, snugly against each other.
4. Add cream and seasoning
   Pour the cooking cream into the dish, around and over the chicory, until the chicory is largely covered. Sprinkle a small pinch (tip of a knife) of nutmeg over the chicory and, if necessary, lightly season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Sprinkle the cheese over
   Spread the grated cheese evenly over the chicory.
6. Gratinate in the oven
   Place the dish in the middle of the preheated oven and gratinate for approx. 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and has a lovely golden colour and the cream is gently bubbling.
7. Serve immediately
   Serve the gratinated chicory straight from the oven, as a warm side dish with a classic meat dish, such as braised beef, or with mashed potatoes and gravy.