Two Simple Gratins to Up Your Winter Vegetable Game

Francois de Melogue

Jan 15, 2020·4 min read

Sometimes you rediscover an old childhood favorite completely by accident. Recently, I was sitting in my office, surrounded by hundreds of old French cookbooks, thinking about what I was going to cook when one book beckoned me over.

It had been a while since I last read Anne Willan’s ‘The Country Cooking of France’. As I flipped through the pages, it felt like I was looking through a cherished family album of childhood dishes. I stopped on one, her version of the French family classic, endive and ham gratin. It evoked vivid memories of my own mother making this dish for me as a small child.

Endive and ham gratin is the macaroni and cheese of France. I found myself licking my lips and instantly decided to make this creamy gratin for my son just like my mom did, with just a bit too much sauce and crispy cheese crusted on the sides. At first, Beau was skeptical and only tried one tiny courtesy bite. I left the table and returned to watch him trying to sneak more bites out of the gratin dish, especially the crispy, melted cheese parts that I used to love. Life has gone full circle.

Click here to see a video of the Belgian Endive and Ham Gratin being made.

Swiss Chard Gratin

A Swiss chard gratin based heavily on the one Richard Olney documented at Lulu’s winery so many years ago.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch Swiss chard
• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 head garlic peeled and rough chopped
• 1 sweet onion diced
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup panko
• 1 teaspoon fruity finishing olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Remove the stems from the Swiss chard and boil for 10 minutes, or until very soft. Trim and wash the spinach leaves and chard leaves together. Drop into boiling water for 1 minute, then remove and drain, squeezing out as much water as possible. Dice the chard stems and reserve.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and olive until foamy. Add the garlic and cook until it turns light amber, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and continue cooking until light brown, about 5 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and spinach and cook 3 more minutes, or until the chard is hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Sprinkle the flour over the leaves and stir in thoroughly mixing. Add the milk and cook for three minutes, or until thickened and creamy looking.
5. Put mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse for 10 seconds. The idea is to get it consistently coarse but NOT fully pureed.
6. Pour into a buttered 6X9 inch ovenproof gratin dish. I have baked this in narrow dishes that were very deep and wide, shallow dishes and have to say I prefer the latter. The consistency seems to agree with me more. Sprinkle the top with panko and olive oil then bake for 30 minutes.
7. Serve immediately.

Belgian Endive and Ham Gratin

A creamy vegetable gratin that works well with any meal.

Servings 6

Ingredients

Pre-cook the endive

• 6 each Belgian endive
• 1 — 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• pinch of sea salt and black pepper

Making the bechamel sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1.5 cups milk
• a few grates nutmeg

To finish the gratin

• 6 slices ham, I love country ham from Virginia but prosciutto or even boiled ham works great too.
• 1/4 cup grated Gruyere

Instructions

Pre-cook the endive

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 5X9 gratin dish.
2. Trim the bottom ends off the endive and any outer leaves that are discolored. Endive should be very white with hints of yellow. If there is green than it has been exposed to light and will be more bitter.
3. Season with sugar, sea salt, and black pepper, cover with aluminum foil and roast for one hour.

Making the bechamel sauce

1. While the endive is roasting: Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Whisk in flour and continue cooking over very low heat for five minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in milk and cook over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a few grates of nutmeg.

To finish the gratin

1. Wrap each endive in one slice of ham and put it back into your gratin dish.
2. Cover with sauce and grated cheese, and bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbling and hot. Enjoy with roasted meats, chicken or a big green salad.