Chicory and Celery Gratin

So. I feel this is something of a cheat of a blogpost. I wrote about a chicory gratin back in August, and this one isn't all that different.

It is, however, veggie, and at the moment, lack of meat in a recipe is all I care about. It's also just as tasty (perhaps more so, even... though the boy did note that it would be improved with a bit of bacon) and I am pleased with the walnut and thyme crust, which I shall now be using on top of anything I can imagine.

Quantities very easily halved (or just use one, not both, of the veg, which would save having small bits of random vegetables sitting in your fridge for the next week) for one person. You could presumably double up for a dinner party, too, although I'm not sure that this is really dinner party food.

And finally... a useful note about herbs. I've noted here that you can use two tablespooons of fresh thyme, or two teaspoons of dried thyme, and I generally find that to be a useful convertor (1 tbs fresh = same flavour punch as 1 tsp dried) for all herbs.


Chicory and celery gratin

2 heads chicory (aka endive), green or red
half a large head of celery
butter

More butter
Tbs flour
1/2 pint milk
200g gruyere

Four slices brown bread
100g walnuts
2 tbs fresh thyme, or 2 tsp dried thyme
glug of oil

Green salad, to serve


Start off by cutting your chicory in half lengthways, and by breaking off ribs (note: I *love* that celery sticks are called ribs. Something less like these it is hard to imagine.) from the head of celery, trimming any dried or dirty bits from the ends. Melt a decent slice of butter in a large frying pan (preferably one with a lid), and, once it bubbles, put the veg in, cut side down in the case of the chicory. Stick the lid on if you have one, and leave to sizzle for 10 minutes, shaking ocassionally, until they are slightly browned and softened.

I did some washing-up whilst they were cooking, but if you're not the sort to have a pile of 10 saucepans and an ice-cream maker in permanent residence next to your sink, you can make the cheese sauce during this time. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, and stir in a tablespoon of flour. Cook for a minute until it turns deep golden, stirring all the time, then gradually mix in the milk, still stirring. Keep stirring as you heat the sauce, only stopping once it's boiled (when it stabilises). Leave to bubble very gently whilst you grate the cheese, then stir that in, together with a decent pinch of salt.

The final component is the breadcrumbs, which involve simply sticking everything except the oil into a food processor, whizzing until rough, then pouring in a decent glug of oil and whizzing again briefly, just to coat them all.

Construct the dish by putting first the veg, then the sauce, and then the crumbs into a baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes or so at 200 degrees, or until the sauce is attempting to bubble out of the dish and the crumbs have browned.


I don't normally make serving suggestions, but this really does need some kind of fresh green salad to go with it, preferably with a bit of crunch, to contrast with the sticky, rich, gratin. And a very crisp white wine, too.

A shopping list, and two recipes, for a British summer

As I write this, I'm looking out my window at a blue sky, from which is apparently falling a very heavy rainshower. It seems that, after the last few months of almost interrupted sunshine, we're finally getting a traditional British summer.

When the weather's good, I know what I want to cook. When the weather's bad, I know what I want to cook. But when it's like this, I struggle. I can't decide from one hour to the next what I want to cook, which makes shopping somewhat difficult. Last week, I was going to make a light salad for dinner, but when the barometer started getting low, it transformed itself into a rich gratin.


Here's what you need to buy:

1 head chicory
100g blue cheese - roquefort or gorgonzola would be personal favourites
large handful walnuts
100g French or German garlic salami (veggies - you can skip this)
Loaf of bread - a ciabatta or sourdough is probably best

And I'm also assuming that you already have olive oil, vinegar, mustard, butter, milk, and flour in the kitchen.


Salad

Lightly toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan, then crumble into halves or so. Cut a couple of slices of the bread into top-thumb-joint-sized chunks, toss in a little olive oil, then fry until golden and crispy croutons have formed. Pull the chicory into leaves, tearing each into two or three. Mix a dressing with 1/2 tsp mustard, a large glug of vinegar, and one of olive oil, then toss the chicory in it. Cut the cheese into cubes, and tear up the salami if the slices are particularly large. Combine all the ingredients.


Gratin

Slice the chicory in two lengthways, and fry, cut-side down, in a little olive oil until browned.

Meanwhile, make a white sauce:

Melt 1 heaped tbs butter in a saucepan, and when it starts to froth, stir in 1 heaped tbs flour, and cook for a minute, maybe. Turn the heat down, and stir in 1/2 pint milk, adding it gradually and making sure the sauce is totally smooth and lump-free before adding more milk. Use a whisk if you need to. Turn the heat up slightly again, and bring the sauce to the boil, stirring all the time to stop it catching on the bottom. Once it's boiled, it will have thickened and stabilised, so you can stop stirring and leave it to simmer gently for around 5 minutes. Cut your cheese and salami up, and stir in to the sauce. Taste it - it probably won't need seasoning, but it might.

Place your chicory into a shallow oven dish, and pour over the cheese and salami sauce. Whizz a couple of slices of bread, the walnuts, and a drop of oil in a food processor until breadcrumbed, then scatter over the top. Bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes or until sizzling and brown on top.