One of my great pleasures while living in Kansas City was meeting someone for lunch at Andrés Confiserie Suisse, a family-owned Swiss bakery and classically civilized lunchroom. They offered three daily choices for a main course, with quiche Lorraine a standard. Whenever endive and ham gratin appeared on the menu, I snapped it up.

Endive, a member of the chicory family, is not widely consumed in America other that served with dips or mixed into a salad. It can be bitter, especially if you fail to cut out the core, which houses the bitterness. But prepared as a gratin, the endive is meltingly tender and the flavor pure bliss. There are two main varieties of endive: Belgium endive, which is compact and near-white, and Dutch endive, which has more pronounced green shades and a looser head. They taste about the same.

This dish is ideal for lunch, a first course, or even a main course. Serve with crusty bread and a leafy salad made with a sweet fruit such as pears or apples, radishes, and a crunchy toasted nut. Note: You can omit the ham but in doing so the still wonderful dish becomes a side vegetable.

Endive and Ham Gratin

Serves 4

8 heads Belgium endive
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1½ cups grated Gruyère or Comté cheese, divided
½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
8 thin slices boiled ham
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. At least two hours before your meal, and up to 8 hours ahead, prepare the endive by cutting a “V” in the root end to remove the core approximately 1½ inches up the stalk. Place endive in a steamer and steam until a knife easily pierces the head, approximately 25 minutes. Remove, drain and cool completely. Once cool, gently wrap your hand around the head and squeeze to remove excess water. Do this a couple of times then wrap the endive in paper towels. The key to achieving a rich creamy dish, as opposed to a runny mess, is draining the endive. Like spinach, endive retains a good deal of water. 

2. Make the sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour, stir and cook over a low temperature for 5 minutes, not allowing it to brown. Place the milk in a microwave container and heat to hot. After the flour has cooked, whisk in the hot milk, add 1 cup of the Gruyère or Comté cheese, the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted. Taste for salt.

3. Preheat oven to 450° and set a rack one position lower than your normal broiler position.

4. Butter a baking dish just large enough to hold the endive. Wrap each endive head with ham, spiraling the ham up the head to encase the whole head. Tuck the endive in close together and pour over enough sauce to nicely cover. Any leftover sauce is delicious as a topping for vegetables. Add the remaining Gruyère or Comté, then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top. 

5. Bake for 15 minutes then turn the oven setting to broil to get that nice brown crust. Watch closely so it doesn’t burn. Remove after browned, about 5 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before platting two endives per person.

   ***You’ll note in my photos I have prepared four endives rather than eight since I live alone. I’m using my leftover sauce to make Cheesy Broccoli—you will find that recipe in my cookbook!