Braised chicory three ways

Get to know the earthy, woody, pleasingly bitter flavours of braised chicory with rich cheeses, nuts and herbs.

Chicory can be quite bitter when raw but when cooked just right, it can be utterly delicious. My favourite approach to bringing out the natural nuttiness in fresh chicory is to braise it, which involves frying, baking or grilling on a high heat, and then stewing at a lower temp.

There are lots of ways to approach braising vegetables. You can use the grill, the oven or the stove top. Here's how to approach all three methods with delicious results.

Under the grill with blue cheese and walnuts

This is a gorgeously nutty, piquant braised chicory side dish.

For this method, you'll need a shallow baking tray and your grill (that's broiler for my US readers). We're going to grill the chicory until just charring, then add stock and braise to perfection before serving the tender leaves with creamy walnuts and tangy blue cheese. Delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 chicory, cut in half lengthways
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 200ml vegetable stock
• Handful of blue cheese (such as roquefort), crumbled
• Handful of walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

Set the grill to high and set the shelf about 10cm below the element.

Halve the chicory and place on a nonstick baking tray with a lip (as you'll be adding stock later).

Drizzle with olive oil.

Season well with pepper.

Pop under grill for 5 minutes - it should brown on both sides.

Add the stock.

Return to the grill and turn down to low. Cook for 20 minutes, turning halfway.

Once the chicory is nicely browned move to a serving dish.

Scatter the walnuts on top.

Crumble the blue cheese on top and serve, season if desired and serve.

Roasted with cannellini beans and pesto

With beans and pesto, this braised chicory option can make for a warm and comforting start to a Mediterranean winter meal.

We'll start by filling a shallow baking dish with chicory quarters and cannellini beans and roasting until the chicory starts to brown and the beans burst delightfully. Next, we'll add stock and braise until the beans take on a soft, reach texture and the chicory softens.

Finally, we'll serve the beans to a bowl, sit the tender braised chicory on top, and garnish with green pesto and chopped almonds. Delightful!

Ingredients

• 1 chicory, cut into quarters lengthwise
• 240g cannellini beans (1 can drained weight), rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 300ml vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp pesto
• Handful blanched almonds, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 220C (200C fan).

Quarter the chicory and place on an oven tray.

Add the beans.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Season with black pepper.

Roast in the oven for 15 minutes until chicory starts to brown. 

Add stock.

Loosely cover with foil and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.

Transfer the beans to a serving dish.

Place the chicory on top and drizzle with pesto.

Scatter with chopped almonds and serve.

On the hob with fennel, lemon and pine nuts

This tender, fresh-tasting, slightly bitter features braised chicory and fennel, flavoured with lemon.

For this method, you'll work with a griddle pan and your hob (stove top), lightly searing the chicory and fennel before adding lemon and stock, covering and braising for 10 minutes. Once served, garnished with pine nuts and coriander, it's a taste sensation.

Ingredients

• 1 chicory, cut in half
• 1 fennel bulb, cut into half or quarters depending on size
• 1 lemon
• 200ml vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp pine nuts (or almond slivers)
• Small bunch coriander roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Oil a griddle pan and place over a high heat 

Add the chicory and fennel to the pan.

Cook for about 5 mins until the leaves start to colour, turning halfway through. 

Once the chicory and fennel have got a bit of colour, turn the heat down to medium and squeeze over half a lemon

Pour in the stock, being careful as it may spit.

Cover the pan loosely (use foil if you don't have a lid) and simmer cook for 10 minutes or until all the liquid has just about gone.

Transfer everything to a serving bowl.

Scatter with toasted pine nuts.

Add the fresh coriander.

Pointers, tricks and troubleshooting tips for the perfect chicory.

Is braised chicory easy to prepare?

Whichever of the three methods shown here, you've used to cook your chicory, it shouldn't prove challenging at all.

It's a relatively forgiving vegetable and tastes delicious when lightly browned all the way through to having a little char to it.

Will I need any special equipment to make braised chicory?

No special equipment is needed for any of the recipes that you wouldn't find outside of a standard kitchen, but you can check the equipment list at the top of the page before starting to make sure.

One thing to note is that if you are cooking chicory on the hob, I find it works best with a griddle pan (the type with ridges), rather than a frying pan, as it leads to pleasing and tasty char lines - but you can use a frying pan in a pinch.

What does chicory taste like?

If you've never tried chicory, you may be surprised by how bitter it is before cooking. Imagine the bitter centre stalk of a lettuce but even stronger! This does also vary quite a bit depending on the variety and when the chicory was picked.

Once cooked, and depending on the preparation method, the chicory's bitter taste will become more subtle allowing you to pick up other, subtler flavours chicory brings. This is why braising works so well.

Where can I buy chicory?

Chicory should be available in the fresh produce section of your local supermarket all year round, and you will often be able to find it in smaller greengrocers.

Wild chicory is native to Europe but is now also common in North America, China and Australia.

In the UK, it can be harvested from around July at the earliest all the way through to December, but is generally in season between September and December in the UK, where it starts to mature as the weather gets colder.

How can I tell if chicory is fresh? What should I look for when buying chicory?

A good first tip is to check if the chicory leaf tips are yellow, which means they are less bitter and more suitable for salads than chicory with green tips. Both types are suitable to cook with.

You can tell if chicory is fresh in much the same way as you would with gem or iceberg lettuce - look for healthy, strong leaves that don't fall away from each other.

Chicory is best stored in the fridge, but once it has been removed from its roof structure it will start to wilt quickly, so it's best to use it as soon as you have bought it or within a couple of days at the most.

Is braised chicory suitable for vegetarians?

All three of these recipes are potentially suitable for vegetarians, but do be aware of a couple of things...

1. If you are roasting the chicory use vegetarian pesto (pesto traditionally contains Parmesan cheese, which contains animal rennet).
2. If you are grilling the chicory make sure the blue cheese doesn't contain any animal rennet (it's less likely, but can happen).

Is braised chicory suitable for vegans?

The recipe for braised chicory and fennel with lemon, cooked on the hob is totally vegan - no changes required.

The recipe for roasted chicory with cannelloni beans and pesto can be made vegan simply by using vegan pesto.

You can buy vegan pesto from most supermarkets, or make it for yourself by simply substituting the Parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast flakes in any recipe you find (start off with just a little and keep adding the flakes to taste).

Finally, chicory cooked under the grill with blue cheese and walnuts can be made vegan by simply leaving the blue cheese out, or using a vegan alternative. Happily, vegan alternatives to mould ripened cheese such as blue cheese have come a long way in the past few years, and you can get some really excellent products in the UK that can be delivered to your door.

Is braised chicory gluten-free?

Yes, all three braised chicory recipes can be made gluten free. However, you would need to check the labels of each ingredients, as some may contain gluten.

This is especially true for the vegetable stock and the pesto, as these often contain gluten.

Is braised chicory keto-friendly?

If you're on a keto diet, the cannellini beans in the roasted chicory dish would probably be too carb rich, but the grilled chicory with walnuts and blue cheese should be ok, especially if you opt for a keto-friendly vegetable stock.

Is braised chicory healthy?

All three of these chicory dishes are pretty healthy. The cannelloni beans are relatively high in carbohydrates but also protein, while the walnuts and blue cheese are relatively high in fat, though used sparingly.

All three dishes have a range of nutrients, so should be great to incorporate into a healthy, balanced diet.

Are these braised chicory recipes safe to eat while pregnant?

If you are pregnant, you should not use blue cheese. Blue cheese is mould ripened and therefore can contain listeria. In this recipe, we do not cook the cheese thoroughly enough to ensure it's safe for pregnant people.

While the vast majority of hard cheeses that will be used in pesto will have been made using pasteurised milk, it is also best to check this before consuming it if pregnant.

No other ingredients should pose a risk if properly stored, and hygienically and safely prepared. However, this website does not offer medical advice and you should always check with your health professional.

The NHS website also has a fantastic resource on what is safe to eat in the UK if your pregnant which you can find here.

What goes well with braised chicory?

These braised chicory dishes work well as side dishes alongside a fish, chicken or alternative main. They're also great as starters, served alongside breadsticks and salad.

Can I leave leftover braised chicory out on the counter?

No, you shouldn't leave leftovers out on the counter. Get any leftover braised chicory cooled, into a sealed container and into the refrigerator as soon as possible and certainly within an hour of making.

How should I store braised chicory? Can I keep braised chicory in the refrigerator?

These dishes are best served freshly made, but if you have any leftovers, it's important to get them cooled, into a sealed container and into the refrigerator as soon as possible and certainly within an hour of making.

Can I freeze braised chicory?

Due to the high water content, it's best not to freeze braised chicory.

Can I make braised chicory ahead?

No, for this dish, it's best to make everything at the time you intend to serve.

How long does braised chicory keep?

If you store leftover braised chicory in the fridge. You should eat it within 24 hours.

What is the best way to reheat braised chicory?

Either reheat in a loosely covered microwave-safe bowl, or in a 200C (180C fan) oven in a dish covered loosely with foil until piping hot.

Can I make braised chicory in a different quantity?

It's really simple to make more or less of these braised chicory dishes. On the recipe card below you'll see the number of servings is set to 6. The 6 servings indicates one half of a bowl each. If you are only making one of the types of braised chicory, it will serve two (or four as a small side).

To change the amount you want to make, simply click on the servings and a slider will pop up that you can move to get the number you need. All the ingredients will update automatically with the correct quantities.

How can I make sure my braised chicory is perfectly cooked?

Take your time and follow the steps to get perfectly braised chicory. As we know, the first stay of braising is to fry, bake or grill on a high heat, and then stew at a lower temp.

It's really important to keep an eye on your chicory, especially during the high heat stage as this is when it can easily overcook or burn.

At the gentler stewing stage, there's more room for variation, so when you think your chicory is ready, give it a taste. You're looking for tender leaves and a mellowed bitterness.

Why did my braised chicory turn out overly bitter?

Undercooked chicory can be quite bitter when raw but when braised, the leaves should soften and that bitterness should mellow. A degree of bitterness is part of parcel of chicory, even when cooked, but if your chicory is still crunchy and extremely bitter, it is most probably undercooked and needs longer in the oven/under the grill/on the stove. Add a splash more stock if necessary to stop it going dry.

If you want to mellow the bitterness further in your finished dish, try a drizzle of honey or a scattering of pomegranate seeds.

Why did my braised chicory burn?

Everyone's stove/grill (broiler)/oven is a little different, so if you find your chicory is cooked more quickly than the recipe suggests, give it a taste. If the leaves are tender and the bitterness mellowed, it's ready.

Can I make braised chicory without some of the toppings?

Absolutely. With these three recipes, you've got three ways to prepare braised chicory. The rest is up to you, so if you like the sound of one method but the toppings from another, then go ahead and mix and match!

What are some other topping ideas for braised chicory?

You could adapt any of the three methods to include all sorts of alternative toppings, depending on your dietary requirements.

Here are some ideas to get you started

• Nuts, such as cashews or peanuts
• Other veg to roast with, such as butternut squash or courgette 
• Cheese, such as feta or goat's cheese
• Anchovies 
• Citrus
• Aromatic seeds, such as fennel
• Chilli spices, such as paprika
• Beans
• Capers
• Bacon

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