Endive and Ham Gratin
By: Giangi Townsend
Published: Thursday, May 9, 2019 - 12:51pm

Ingredients




6 large endive all the same size and light outer leaves
1 cup white wine
1 cup water
6 slices of ham
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
WHITE SAUCE
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup of the endive water wine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 grinds of fresh nutmeg or 1/8 of a teaspoon dry

Preparation

1 Remove the hard end of the endives, making sure they stay intact. Remove any dark or damaged ends. 2 Place water and wine in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the endives, salt and bring back to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about 10 minutes. 3 FOR THE SAUCE 4 Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the flour and mix well. Add the milk and the wine water, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk until the sauce is smooth and bubbling. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. 5 ASSEMBLY & COOKING 6 Remove the endives from the water wine boil, save the liquid. Drain the endives and roll the ham around each. 7 Preheat the oven at 375F. 8 Butter a gratin dish and place each ham wrapped endives in the dish. Spread the sauce over the endives. Scatter the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. 9 Place in the hot oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.

About

This dish of endives with ham gratin is as traditional French as it gets. However, I decided to play with the flavors and it was fantastic without compromising the flavor. The endives are first cooked, and this can be done a the day before, in a small amount of water and white wine. Do not toss the cooking water as I used half of it to make the white sauce. Flavor out of this world and cut down on the milk intake.
Easy to prepare not only you will enjoy the simplicity, but also the convenience that you prepare it the day before partially cooked. Cooking made it easy.