Endives au jambon, known in the north as chicons au gratin, is the emblematic dish of the chicon-growing Nord: whole Belgian endives braised soft, wrapped each in a slice of cooked ham, laid in a dish under a béchamel sauce and grated cheese, and baked until bubbling and golden. The bitterness of the endive plays against the salt of the ham and the creamy sauce. It is a homely weeknight gratin of the north, eaten with potatoes or bread. "Chicon" is the northern and Belgian name for the endive, grown in the dark to keep it pale.
The dish is inseparable from the witloof or chicon, a blanched chicory shoot forced in darkness, whose cultivation took hold in the 19th century around Brussels and spread across the northern French plain, where the Nord became a major growing region. Pairing the braised chicon with ham and a béchamel gratin is a 20th-century home-cooking classic on both sides of the Franco-Belgian border, a thrifty, warming way to dress a winter vegetable. It is one of the defining everyday dishes of the Nord and of Belgium, where it is endives au gratin or chicons au gratin.
Cut into it and the endive is meltingly soft, its raw bitterness mellowed to a gentle, pleasant edge that cuts the richness around it. The ham is salty and yielding, the béchamel creamy and just thick enough to cloak everything, and the cheese on top browns to a savoury, slightly crisp crust. There is a faint sweetness too, from the braising. Warm and soft and comforting, with a forkful of potato to round it out, it is plain home food rather than anything fancy.
The endive must be cooked through before it is gratinéed, by braising or boiling, which softens its fibre and tames the bitter compounds — under-cooked, it stays sharp and squeaky. Draining it well matters, because the leaves hold water that would thin the sauce. The béchamel is a roux sauce: flour cooked in butter then loosened with milk, the starch thickening it to a clinging coat. Under the grill the cheese-topped sauce browns through the Maillard reaction, and a little of the rendered savour from ham and sauce concentrates into the crust.
Variations
Common touches include wrapping a slice of cheese inside the ham, sprinkling the endives lightly with sugar to counter the bitterness, or adding a splash of the braising liquor or nutmeg to the béchamel. Some cooks deglaze and reduce the endive juices into the sauce; Gruyère, Comté or Emmental are the usual cheeses. The Belgian chicons au gratin is essentially the same dish. It belongs to the broad family of vegetable gratins but is defined here by the chicon, the Nord's signature winter vegetable.
On the Palate
Where Endives au Jambon sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 35 min active + 40 min waiting
- 120 min
Trim the endives, hollowing out the bitter core at the base, and braise or boil them until tender.
Watch outCook the endives fully tender before gratinéeing — undercooked, they stay sharp and squeaky and the bitterness never mellows.
- 28 min
Drain the endives very well and pat them dry, pressing out excess water.
Watch outDrain and press the endives really dry — the leaves hold water that would thin the béchamel into a puddle.
- 312 min
Make a béchamel: cook flour in melted butter to a roux, then whisk in milk and simmer to a thick, smooth sauce.
Watch outWhisk the milk into the roux and simmer to a thick, smooth sauce that coats the spoon — a thin béchamel slides off and won't cling under the grill.
- 42 min
Season the sauce with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg.
- 510 min
Wrap each endive in a slice of cooked ham and lay them in a buttered baking dish.
- 65 min
Coat with the béchamel and scatter grated cheese over the top.
- 723 min
Bake at about 200 degrees Celsius for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbling and golden.
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.
