Being born in Belgium and raised by a Belgian family (obviously) I'm very partial to Belgian food and still eat it regularly now. I wouldn't say the stuff is good, but my wife Joanne, who is as big a Yankee doodle dandy as there is has been converted to Belgian cooking. She cooks Belgian dishes regularly. In fact she more or less abandoned the cooking she learned from her mother (whose staple was great American farm dishes) and mimicked my mother's cooking.
Chicon Au Gratin
Chicon Au Gratin is one of our favorite winter dishes. You can really impress your gourmet dinner guests with it because very few have had it. Usually they've experienced Belgian endive in a salad, but only a few have had cooked. Chicon Au Gratin is made with
Belgian endives, each piece is wrapped in a slice of ham, topped with béchamel sauce and blanketed in melted cheese. This is a great main dish especially in the winter time. In Belgium it is often served with mashed potatoes. We usually serve it with a baguette, but french fries are also a popular and easy option. Here's how you make it with this great Chicon Au Gratin recipe. We use a similar recipe because we are suckers for Gruyere cheese.You can serve it with your favorite white wine or go really Belgian and serve it with Stella Artois beer.
Braise Endive
If you want to experience the flavor of cooked Belgian endive without all the fuss you can braise it and enjoy it with your steak frites as a side dish. First steam the endive until it is moderately soft. Then braise it in butter and there you are. You have the option of cutting off its bottom stem to make the endive milder and less bitter (although for me the more bitter the better!) Braised endive is a popular side dish in Belgium and France. Do you have any favorite Belgian endive recipes you'd like to share? I'm always looking for a new one to enjoy.
The Belgian Cookbook
Order this authentic historical cookbook and bring history to your dining room table. This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. To order the Belgian Cookbook Click Here!
Chicon Au Gratin
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| Image Courtesy of Jiel A. Beaumadier and Wiki Commons |
Braise Endive
If you want to experience the flavor of cooked Belgian endive without all the fuss you can braise it and enjoy it with your steak frites as a side dish. First steam the endive until it is moderately soft. Then braise it in butter and there you are. You have the option of cutting off its bottom stem to make the endive milder and less bitter (although for me the more bitter the better!) Braised endive is a popular side dish in Belgium and France. Do you have any favorite Belgian endive recipes you'd like to share? I'm always looking for a new one to enjoy.
Order this authentic historical cookbook and bring history to your dining room table. This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. To order the Belgian Cookbook Click Here!
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