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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2010 20:22:05 GMT
Okay, I kind of screwed up making this tonight, but I am going to show you what I did anyway. Endives au jambon is one of the most popular winter dishes in France, and even though it isn't winter anymore, today is the day that I wanted to have it. Obviously, first you start with some Belgian endive, the quintessential Western European winter vegetable. Most of them are rather plump, so in most cases you should split them in two for this preparation, after of course trimming off the usual tail end. Put the endive in a frying pan (I used a deep one) with some oil in order to braise it. The main reason for this is because it gives off a lot of water, and if you don't do it, the end result will be swimming in juice that you don't want. And since it gives off a lot of water, it is best to cover it during the braising phase, because it can splatter quite a bit. Turn the endive pieces over until they are properly braised. With my electric stove, I was able to turn it off to allow the endive to keep cooking for a few minutes. You people who use gas have different methods. Once they are done, put them on a plate so that they continue to sweat and lose a little more moisture. So far so good, but it was just after that point that I thought I might have encountered some problems. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2010 20:42:06 GMT
I had been to the supermarket earlier and ignored the packages of bechamel mix, because I was certain that I already had some. And anyway, if I didn't, I had a vague idea of how to make white sauce from scratch. But I really did not want to. So I started rooting around in the cubboard to find bechamel mix. Where the hell was it hiding? Damn it! I found just about everything except bechamel mix/ Wow, I should use some of this stuff one of these days. Some of it looks pretty interesting. But still no bechamel sauce. I should have started to realize that there was a problem when I noticed this. Oh -- two different sorts of packages of Lawry's guacamole mix -- probably from two different decades! I really need to take inventory more often. Some of this stuff might expire sooner or later, might it not? Oh what a silly idea! That's just a marketing ploy. But I had still not found any bechamel mix, until at the back of the cupboard, eureka! Béchamel at last! But, wow, it was really stuck way far at the back of the cabinet. I hope it isn't too old...? Oh, "best before February 1999". That's not too bad. I must have bought it around 1996. That sort of thing lasts forever, doesn't it? Shit, it's just flour and maybe a few other ingredients. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2010 21:06:36 GMT
So, I empty the béchamel mix into a saucepan. It looks fine to me. And then I add the requisite half liter of milk to mix it up. The ham is fresh. I did not buy it in 1996. And I have an excellent oven dish to use. The béchamel is ready. It has been bubbling for at least a minute as I stirred it. I wrapped a piece of ham around each piece of endive and lay it in the oven dish. The béchamel goes on top. Grind some fresh pepper on top. That can never be a bad thing... |
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Post by spindrift on Apr 13, 2010 21:14:00 GMT
That's so delicious and I absolutely LOVE the way you posted the pics at the start of the thread. This is one of my favourite dishes and I'm happy you've reminded me about it although I won't be able to buy endives in my town. This excellent supper dish is quick and easy even if you have to make your own bechamel sauce from scratch. Don't you sprinkle grated cheese on top? parmesan perhaps? Yummy.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2010 21:26:05 GMT
And that's when I realized that I had made a horrible mistake. This is a cheesy dish, but not really a crunchy au gratin dish. The emmental that is part of the dish was supposed to be incorporated in the béchamel and not just added on top. I know that it will not be a gustatory tragedy but merely an aesthetic heresy, so I continue with the preparations rather than throwing everything in the rubbish. I will not breathe a word to anybody that I put the grated cheese on top instead of melting it into the sauce, and I know that I can trust anybody who might be reading this to keep the terrible secret. Okay, after about 15 minutes in the oven, it is time to take the horrible ugly thing out. Parsley will not mask the abomination. In spite of my terrible mistake, I manage to choke down the poorly prepared meal. My cooking is my own punishment. But it actually tasted pretty good. |
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Post by fumobici on Apr 13, 2010 21:46:23 GMT
Looks fine to me. I think that packaged Crème de cèpes mix might've done well as a béchamel substitute. Assuming of course it isn't 20 years old.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 13, 2010 21:57:08 GMT
The Béchamel mix is actually lower in fat than real béchamel, although it does contain some fat. Yes, the crème de cèpes could have done in a pinch, though it is a crème as in a soup, not a sauce. Have you made the banh xeo?
I remember endives some decades back not being as fat as they are now; they were a bit more long and skinny.
I haven't made that in a while, although I always like it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2010 22:14:06 GMT
No, those other packages are just for decoration.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 14, 2010 1:49:31 GMT
Gaaaak ~~ all those envelopes of mixes! Eet eez like crahpping on zyour 'eritáge.
I've never had endive fixed that way, but have had that dish with broccoli instead. Would love to try it with endive, in the unlikely event I ever lay my hands on any.
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Post by spindrift on Apr 14, 2010 9:08:43 GMT
The one place I can be sure of finding endives is Waitrose. I'm going there tonight so I'll buy some and make a supper dish for my children on Friday evening. K - you didn't use best quality ham there....your ham looks slippery to start with.  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2010 9:18:04 GMT
Ham that is going to be rebaked in sauce does not have to be best quality. That would be like using 30 year old Scotch whisky to make a whisky & Coke.
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Post by spindrift on Apr 14, 2010 9:25:52 GMT
excuses, excuses
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Post by bjd on Apr 14, 2010 13:32:14 GMT
I always eat endives raw as salad because of my kids' stories about the horrible braised endives that were served at the school cafeteria. I read recently that cooking them makes them bitter -- isn't that the case?
I had some today in fact, but the end of endive season is coming rapidly.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2010 13:45:43 GMT
They are supposed to be slightly bitter, even in salad. It might be a bit more pronounced in braised endives because more of the water is gone.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 14, 2010 16:58:17 GMT
I like the bitterness of endive (see bitters thread).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2010 17:12:54 GMT
And I like braised endives just like that, too -- they are one of my favorite vegetables. Normal for children to hate them, of course. Perhaps if the schools would put apricot jam on top, they would have more success.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 14, 2010 17:48:02 GMT
What I think is interesting about braising the endive is that it would caramelize any natural sugars in the vegetable. That kind of caramelizing creates another note of sweet/bitterness that would be appealing to the sophisticated palate, something most kids don't yet possess.
I did not compliment you on your wonderful photos, Kerouac. You really make a dish that sounds fiddly when written as a recipe look quite simple to make.
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Post by bjd on Apr 14, 2010 18:52:57 GMT
My kids were 15 or 16 when they had to eat the braised endives at the school cafeteria, so old enough not to need apricot jam on their food. I think the problem was canteen cooking of bitter food, soggy consistency and industrial bechamel.
They do like raw endives, which we often have in salads -- just not braised ones.
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Post by auntieannie on Apr 14, 2010 20:32:26 GMT
I don't remember ever cooking the endives before baking them in endives au jambon.
When we were small and we didn't like endives, mom would always replace some of them with leek. Now I prefer the endives.
I remember endives braised in butter with added sugar. A favourite of my ex.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2010 20:47:21 GMT
When I first started making endives, I didn't braise them first, but they would practically be floating in the cast off water after going in the oven.
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Post by spindrift on Apr 14, 2010 22:50:30 GMT
This evening I committed myself to buying two plump endives from Belgium the packet said. I await to enjoy them tomorrow. My ham is not slippery; it is good quality.
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Post by cristina on Apr 15, 2010 1:17:09 GMT
This was wonderful...thanks especially for your detailed photos! I have never had this dish, nor have I ever had endive in any state other than raw. But ham and a cheesy béchamel sauce are always good ingredients in my book. I just wished you had posted this during actual winter as my chances of finding "sort of local" endive are probably pretty slim now.  And will I remember this recipe next winter?  I have to comment on the packaged sauce mix. I am by no means a purist when it comes to these things as you will definitely find Knorr sauce mixes in my cupboard. But I have never seen béchamel in a package. And for me, anyway, I think it is probably the easiest sauce on earth to make from scratch. Ok, so after a Knorr web search, it seems they do not market the sauce in the US (of their sauces, only hollandaise and bérnaise are sold here). But they do market an amazing number of packaged sauces in France (I didn't look at other countries' marketing). I find this fascinating. |
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Post by gertie on Apr 15, 2010 5:43:34 GMT
Oh my that does look good. Never used packaged béchamel, I always make a white sauce from just milk, corn starch, a little pepper, and some butter myself.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2010 6:08:57 GMT
Cristina, the packages don't say 'béchamel' in the U.S. They just say 'white sauce'.
When the French make béchamel from scratch, it is just milk, flour and salt. I presume the packaged version has some thickening agent and also an anti-clumping one.
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Post by bjd on Apr 15, 2010 7:09:10 GMT
When the French make béchamel from scratch, it is just milk, flour and salt. I presume the packaged version has some thickening agent and also an anti-clumping one. You forgot the butter. |
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Post by spindrift on Apr 15, 2010 8:29:20 GMT
Apparently you can put endives in with roasting meat.....Roast Endives.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2010 13:06:08 GMT
My family has never put butter in béchamel, bjd. However, I should mention that it usually has a bit of ground nutmeg in it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2010 13:08:04 GMT
Apparently you can put endives in with roasting meat.....Roast Endives. I prefer cooked endive to having it as a salad. |
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Post by joanne28 on Apr 15, 2010 15:30:32 GMT
This looks quick and easy. I'll give it a try for tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2010 19:31:53 GMT
Even if you don't use endive, the recipe lends itself to other vegetables -- which can be braised beforehand if they will not cook quickly in the oven.
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And will I remember this recipe next winter? 
