FDT: Witloof in de oven

One of our tradiotional dishes in Flanders is ‘witloof in de oven’ (chicory in the oven). Everyone loves it, and it is especially served on colder days.

What do you need?

·        500 gram ground cheese

·        6 pieces of chicory

·        6 slices of cooked ham (or double, if you want more meat)

·        1 glass of water

·        Pepper, salt and nutmeg

To make the sauce:

·        50 gram of flour

·        50 gram of baking butter

·        25 deciliter of milk

·        25 deciliter cooking fluid from the chicory

·        lemon juice, if desired

 

How to go ahead:

You can start by prewarming your oven (180° Celsius). Then you clean the chicory (cut away the hard part) and fry it with butter until it get some color. Save the juice, because you’ll need it later. Season it with pepper, salt and nutmeg. When all the sides are colored, add a glass of water. Leave it on the fire for some 5 minutes. Take the chicory out of the water and dry it up; keep the water in which it boiled.

You prepare the sauce by making a white bechamel. Melt the 50 gram of butter and add the 50 gram of flour immediately. Stir and then add the milk and the cooking fluid from the chicory, and if you want to some lemon juice.

Then you place a slice of ham on your working space and place a piece of chicory on it. Wind it up.

Take a ovendish and cover the bottom with some béchamel sauce. Place the ham rolls in and cover with the rest of the bechamel.

To finish, cover up with ground cheese and put the dish for 20 minutes in the oven (180°) and afterwards 5 minutes under the grill, to get a nice brown crust.

We traditionally serve these ham rolls with mashed potatoes. Enjoy!