As many of you who read this blog regularly know, one of my favourite things to do is try to recreate dishes I discover on my travels once I am home. Today in my third post for Liberté, I’m recreating a classic Belgian dish – Chicons au gratin – basically endives wrapped in ham, slathered in a rich Mornay sauce (béchamel with Gruyère cheese) and baked until crispy on top. When I was 17, I spent a year in Brussels as an exchange student and one of my host mothers made a rocking version of this. It became a firm favourite and even now when I go back to visit, and if endives are in season, she makes it for me. It can be a fairly rich dish but I lightened it up by using Liberté’s Plain Greek Yogurt o% in the sauce. Result? A lighter Mornay sauce that doesn’t taste light! It bakes up beautifully!
See?
In Brussels, I ate a LOT of this dish. It wasn’t, shall we say, the best for my figure. Well, that and the chocolate and the beer. So I was ecstatic to taste this made with a Greek yoghurt sauce. It’s so good you wouldn’t even realise the recipe was “light”. (Well, light-er!)
- (for the endives)
- 6 small endives
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- (for the Mornay sauce)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup milk (I used 1%)
- ½ cup Liberté Plain Greek Yogurt 0%
- ½ cup Gruyère cheese
- (to assemble)
- 6 slices ham
- ¼ cup Gruyère cheese, grated
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
- (for the endives)
- Remove the base of the endives and any loose outer leaves.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the endives.
- Sauté endives over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until they start to brown.
- Add the garlic and sugar and continue to cook until the endives start to caramelize slightly.
- Remove from the pan and place on paper towels to drain off any excess oil.
- (for the Mornay sauce)
- Heat the butter over medium heat in a decent-sized saucepan.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes (it should not get brown).
- Whisk in the milk and continue to cook until the mixture starts to thicken slightly.
- Remove from the heat and add in the yoghurt. Whisk until smooth.
- Add the grated cheese and continue to whisk until cheese is melted into the mixture. Set aside.
- (to assemble)
- Grease an ovenproof dish.
- Roll the sautéed endives in a slice of ham and place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish.
- Pour over the Mornay sauce, covering the endives completely.
- Bake at 425˚F for 25 minutes.
- Now turn off the oven and heat the broiler on high.
- Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the top of the baking dish and broil until golden brown and bubbling, about 10 minutes.
- Enjoy with a green salad and fresh baguette.
For more fabulous recipes and to discover their Greek yogurt line, visit Liberté now.
It looks great.. especially i liked the mornay recipe, i was always cooking classic bechamel sauce, next time i ll try with yoghurt..
This works really well – you’d be surprised!
nomnom looks delicious! This is one of my favourite Belgian dishes!
We always eat it with mash potatoes but this is indeed a lighter option
Never had it with mashed potatoes but clearly need to try!
My French mother-in-law makes this a lot in winter and it’s one of my fav comfort dishes – plus a great way to eat your veg! Love how you’ve used the Greek yoghurt in this, Mardi.
Absolutely in awe of that first photo with the spoon’s reflection. What a shot!
so interesting using yogurt to lighten up the bechamel. I’ll definitely have to try. And I love that you used chicon instead of endive
Mais bien sûr!
Another beautiful recipe Mardi.
Thanks Paula!
I adoooore chicons au gratin! I would never have believed lightening it up was even an option, but this sounds fantastic.
Well done!
Well it worked pretty well – I was happy!
It looks a really “warming” and appealing dish for a cold day. But, judging by the ingredients, it’s a once-a-week option if weight control is a problem.
I can almost smell it.
It’s actually not that bad in a small portion
Est-ce que tu as liquidé tout le plat???!!!
C’est ta soeur ici, qui passe 3 semaines en famille et dont le 1er plat au retour fut… des chicons au gratin…
En tout cas, les photos sont très tentantes… A quand ton restaurant avec spécialités belges et européennes au menu ?!
Ta prochaine recette belge: un plat à la bière belge! Bonne continuation…
Merci merci merci
This dish look so hearty and delicious – and cheesy and yummy! Thanks for sharing
So welcome!
Geoff, it was 26C when Mardi served this – defintiely not a cold day!
I really enjoyed these, and would put myself firmly in the category of “this is light(er)?”. Rich sauce, nice ham, crispy endives.
Paired with a crisp rose for a perfect summer meal. In March.
You really couldn’t tell, huh?
These look gorgeous and your photos look beautiful! I love Belgian food, chips and mayo YUM!
Ah yes now THERE’S something I love too!