Braised chicory with orange and thyme

Braised chicory with orange and thyme is an elegant side dish in which fresh citrus combines beautifully with the slightly bitter character of chicory. Thyme adds aroma and warmth. It goes well with chicken, pork or a simple potato dish.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 medium heads of chicory
• 1 medium orange
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 30 g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp honey
• 75 ml vegetable stock
• salt
• black pepper

Preparation

1. Halve the chicory and trim the core
   Remove a thin slice from the bottom of the chicory, halve the heads lengthwise and, at the base of each half, partially cut away the hard core with a small V-shaped cut. Keep the heads otherwise intact.
2. Grate and juice the orange
   Finely grate 1 tsp of the orange zest and squeeze the juice from the fruit.
3. Strip the thyme leaves
   Strip the leaves from the thyme sprigs.

Method

1. Heat the fats
   Heat the butter with the olive oil in a large pan.
2. Brown the chicory
   Place the chicory cut-side down in the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the cut side turns lightly golden brown.
3. Add the liquid and flavourings
   Turn the chicory over and add the orange juice, stock, honey and thyme.
4. Braise the chicory
   Put a lid on the pan and let the chicory braise gently for 15 minutes.
5. Reduce the liquid
   Remove the lid from the pan and let the liquid reduce gently for another 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add the orange zest
   Stir in the orange zest.
7. Season and serve
   Season with salt and black pepper and serve immediately.