Baked witlof with brioche and two-cheese sauce

The bitterness of witlof and the sweetness of brioche blend really well in this simple two-cheese bake.

Credit: James Martin's French Adventure

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 6 witlof (endive / chicory)
• 80 g butter
• 1 loaf brioche, cut into cubes
• 1½-3 tbsp flour
• 300 ml milk
• 300 ml thick (double) cream
• 3 tsp French mustard
• 200 g Comte cheese
• Bunch fresh thyme
• 200 g Santigo cheese (or other blue cheese)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200℃ (400℉/Gas Mark 6).
2. Halve the endives and cook 3 at a time in a hot frying pan with a knob of butter (about 15 g). Cook for 3-4 minutes until charred, and then put in a large roasting tin.
3. Toast cubes of brioche in a pan with about 20 g of butter. When toasted, place in the roasting tin with the endive and mix together.
4. Melt 2 knobs of butter (30 g) in a new pan. Add about 2 tbsp of flour and heat up to thicken. Mix with a wooden spoon.
5. Turn down the heat and gradually whisk the milk into the roux.
6. Add the cream, and simmer over a low heat for 2 minutes. Add mustard and stir.
7. Grate the Comte cheese and add to the pan (keeping a little aside for the top).
8. Take the pan off the heat, add a splash more milk and whisk. Season to taste.
9. Sprinkle fresh thyme over the top of the endives and brioche.
10. Pour the cheese sauce over the top and grate and/or crumble more Comte and the Santigo over the top.
11. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.