In many kitchens, chicory has an unpopular existence in the shadows because some consumers do not like the bitter aroma of this vegetable. That's a shame, because new varieties have significantly less bitter substances and impress with their fine aroma, which goes wonderfully with steamed or baked dishes.
What recipe ideas are there for chicory?
Recipe ideas with chicory include the Belgian chicory pizza with abbey cheese and bresaola, as well as a salad made from chicory, oranges, dates and walnuts. Both dishes offer a delicious combination of sweet and savory flavors and taste particularly good with roasted meat.
Belgian chicory pizza with aromatic abbey cheese
Chicory is extremely popular in Belgium. As our pizza proves, vegetables are used in this country to make extremely creative dishes.
Ingredients for 3 pizzas or a large tray
Dough
- 300 g flour
- 15 grams of fresh yeast
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- approx. 200 milliliters of water
Topping
- 4 Chicory
- 250 g abbey cheese
- 70 g Bresaola
- 250 ml milk
- 30 g butter
- 30 g flour
- Pepper, s alt and thyme
Preparation:
- Dissolve yeast in 50 ml of lukewarm water.
- Knead the flour, oil and remaining water in a bowl to form an elastic dough. Add the water little by little so that the dough doesn't become too runny.
- Let rise in a warm place for about 50 to 60 minutes.
- If the volume has doubled, preheat the oven to 180 degrees top and bottom heat.
- Finely dice 50 grams of cheese, grate the rest.
- Melt half of the butter in a pot and sweat the flour in it.
- Add milk and bring to the boil briefly while stirring. Continue to simmer while stirring until a creamy béchamel sauce is formed.
- Add grated cheese, let it melt and season the sauce with s alt and pepper.
- Wash, clean and finely chop the chicory.
- Heat the remaining butter in a pan and sauté the chicory in it for five minutes. Season with s alt and pepper.
- Roll out pizza dough to the size of a sheet or shape into three pizza bases.
- Spread the béchamel sauce on top. Spread the chicory pieces, the beef ham and the cheese cubes on the pizza.
- Bake for about 20 minutes and serve sprinkled with thyme.
Salad with chicory, oranges, dates and walnuts
The sweetness of the dates and the acidity of the oranges harmonize wonderfully with the delicately bitter aroma of chicory. This light salad goes great with briefly fried meat.
Ingredients for 2 people
- 2 large chicory
- 2 oranges
- 1 handful of walnut kernels
- 10 dates
- 3 tbsp walnut oil
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 – 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp mustard
- 1 egg yolk
- Pepper
- S alt
- 1 pinch of sugar
Preparation
- Wash, clean and cut the chicory into fine strips.
- Fillet and dice oranges.
- Destone and chop the dates.
- Chop the walnuts too.
- Put all the ingredients for the dressing in a mixing bowl and mix with the hand blender until you get a creamy salad dressing.
- Mix the chicory, oranges, walnuts and dates in a bowl, drizzle the sauce over them.
Tip
So that the chicory doesn't change color and become bitter, you should make sure that it doesn't have any brown spots when you buy it. At home, wrap it in a damp kitchen towel and store it in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator, where it will stay fresh for up to a week.
