Chicory Gratin
This is a delicious, warming dish that hails from Belgium (and Northern France): bitter chicory are braised, wrapped in salty ham, smothered in a mustard-spiked béchamel sauce and showered in umami-rich grated Gruyère. I am indebted to MasterChef winner Eddie Scott for alerting me to the beauty of braising the chicory in beer — something that obviously suits the theme of this book. This dish is delicious as a meal in its own right, served with a green salad, but it also works well as a side to meat. If you’d rather keep this dish meat-free, you can easily leave out the ham, bearing in mind that the bitterness of the chicory will come through a little stronger.
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