This casserole is made of awesome! And no, I’m definitely not exaggerating. Not this time. We’re talking spiked mashed potatoes topped with ham, cheese and chicory (endive) rolls. What’s not to love?
It’s a family recipe and undoubtedly a staple recipe in many Dutch homes. You can easily prepare this casserole ahead of time, which is a big plus to me. It’s the kind of casserole I’ll whip up when I know the next day will be a busy and hectic one. All we have to do is pop it in the oven the moment we come home, and in no time we’ll have a wonderful meal on the table.
Ingredients:
3 big heads chicory
2 pound potatoes
2/3 cup of milk
knob of butter
1 1/2 tbsp coarse mustard
6 cheese slices
6 ham slices
pepper
nutmeg
salt
Directions:
* This recipe serves 3. Adjust the quantities to suit your family’s needs. You can stash more rolls on top of the mashed potatoes.
Peel, wash and dice the potatoes.
Salt the water, but remember you can always add salt to the mash later.
Boil them until really tender. For me this took about 20 minutes. While you’re at it, bring an another large pot of salted water to a boil.
The chicory, or Belgium endive as some people call this vegetable. We call it witlof. My general rule of thumb when it comes to veggies is 7oz per person, per day. I always buy chicory that weighs roughly 7oz each. Cut off the bottom and remove any unpretty outer leaves.
Slice the chicory in half lengthways and feel free to remove the bitter core (See the triangle? That’s the one). I seldom do, though. Chicory doesn’t seem to be as bitter anymore these days.
Plunge the chicory halves into the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
Then drain them.
Preheat your oven to 400F (200C).
In the mean time the potatoes will be done. Drain them, pour in the milk, add some butter (not too much) and season with pepper and nutmeg.
I use my handmixer to turn it into a smooth puree.
Add the coarse mustard. No less than 1 tbsp or you won’t taste it, but no more than 2 tbsp or it will become overpowering. Stir well and taste to check the seasoning.
Transfer the mashed potatoes to an oven dish.
Let’s make the rolls. Start with a thick slice of cheese, top it with ham and place a chicory halve on top. Start rolling those babies!
For all you chicory haters out there, you can also do this with asparagus. Canned asparagus even!
Put the chicory rolls right on top of the mashed potatoes. We eat two rolls per person. Since you don’t eat any meat on the side, and if you don’t add a gallon of cream and/or butter to the mashed potatoes (something I’ve never understood), this is actually a pretty decent dinner.
Pop them in the oven and bake at 400F (200C) for 25 minutes. Until the cheese is golden brown.
This really is comfort food. The potatoes have a bit of zing that compliments the gooyeness of the melted cheese, and the slight bitterness of the chicory goes so well with the mellow ham flavor. Simple, wholesome and hearty. Exactly how I like it.
Kay’s Recipe Card
Click here for printable size.
Tip: leave out the mashed potatoes, lightly spread some coarse mustard on the cheese before you start rolling and you have a great low carb side dish.
Tags: butter, casserole, cheese and chicory rolls, chicory, coarse mustard, ham, mashed potatoes, milk, nutmeg, pepper, potatoes
November 9th, 2009 at
Heerlijk! Gister nog gemaakt (deze lijkt op die uit de nieuwste Allerhande).
Ik vind zelf ook de toevoeging van een kaassaus (bechamel+geraspte kaas) erg lekker.
November 9th, 2009 at
@Denise:
Heeft de allerhande ook weer een nieuwe uit? Dan moet ik ff het blaadje gaan halen! Staan af en toe wel leuke recepten in.
November 9th, 2009 at
Wow your recipes always look so good! I often make something like this, but then using sauerkraut and crushed pineapple rolled in ham with bechamel sauce on top. Definately going to try this version though.
November 9th, 2009 at
This is very much like something we often ate growing up and I still love, but have never seen anywhere else before. I find that sometimes chicory becomes stringy when boiled, so I always steam it briefly. We wrap the chicory in just the hame and then cover the whole lot in cheese sauce and don’t use any mash, making it a nice low carb meal which leaves room for dessert!
November 9th, 2009 at
Your recipes are always so versatile and yummy..!! Thanks for sharing..!
November 9th, 2009 at
Ik maakte ze alleen de witlof rolletjes, maar met aarduppelpuree eronder.. Goed idee! Ga ik zeker proberen!
November 9th, 2009 at
I just got back from the Netherlands and encountered “witlof” for the first time! I had never had it growing up in the Southern US. It certainly isn’t a staple in our diet. I fell in love with it! We ate at De Drie Provincien (near Bakkeveen) and it was one of their side dishes for the evening– prepared just as you say- With ham, cheese in a creamy mustard sauce. It was fantastic. No one knew the “American” term for witlof– so I asked the waiter who in turn asked the chef. He came to the table and explained it. Belgian endive.
Now, I get lucky and you post this immediately after I return home!!
November 9th, 2009 at
what could you use instead of the chicory?
November 9th, 2009 at
Yummers haven’t tried witlof in ages! I can smell the cheese already! Definitely foisting this on my dinner guests! Thanks for the recipe!
November 9th, 2009 at
Your site is beautiful and I adore your pictures :) Just added you to my blogroll so I can frequent it more often! :P Thanks!
November 9th, 2009 at
This is so much more impressive than I thought it would be, when I first read the post title. These look spectacular, and not just because of the great photography.
November 9th, 2009 at
Is this “chicory” the same vegetable you use in the endive potato mash? It looks completely different in your photos. I found something labeled endive/chicory in my grocery store, but it doesn’t look like either of these. I am taking a picture to my small market locally to see if they can tell me what it is.
Continue to totally enjoy all your pics and recipes!
November 10th, 2009 at
To Kim: Endive = Chicory
To Kay: I’m definitely making this! I was in Belgium several years ago and at a pub for a late-night dinner. The menu was in French (I think) and I remember looking for something “light”. I recognized ham & chicory in the description and thought – “oh, a vegetable! That’s what I’m getting.” This was a bit heavy for a late night meal, but oh my was it delicious! I’m glad to get a chance to try this one out at home.
November 10th, 2009 at
IF I am fortunate enough to find endive in the U.S. I will be making this posthaste! I so miss endive – we ate tons in NL! My landlord’s mother grew it for years in Gelderland – in the very place we lived in – lol. I SO miss the good, fresh veggies of NL. I agree – never been one for tons of butter or cream in mashed ‘taters – but then maybe the U.S. ones need all that – they don’t seem to be quite as good as they were there!
November 10th, 2009 at
Kim: there is such a thing as chicory root, which looks, well, like a root. Kind of like ginger, all knobby. Maybe that’s what you’re thinking of? Chicory/endive is grown for its leaves, while chicory root is grown for the root portion.
Kay: I love how your recipes are just a little different than what we have here in “mainstream” America… I have yet to try them, but they all look delicious. What kind of cheese did you use in these?
November 10th, 2009 at
@Kim:
No, it’s not. That’s curly endive and it’s an entirely different vegetable.
November 10th, 2009 at
@Christie C.:
I’m so boring, I always end up using Gouda cheese :)
November 10th, 2009 at
@Nicole:
I do make it without the mashed potatoes and with cheese sauce on top of it, but to actually turn it into a side dish with a mustard sauce on top is a fantastic idea for Christmas! Thanks for the idea.
November 10th, 2009 at
This looks amazing! Now I’ll know what to do with chicory the next time I run across it in the supermarket. Thanks for yet another great recipe.
November 10th, 2009 at
dit ziet er zooo lekker uit! i am already thinking with what to subsitute the ham, since i am vegetarian. or maybe i just skip it altogether…
November 10th, 2009 at
I don’t think I have seen a more decadent dish ever……every element of the dish is done with great care and wonderful flavors. Well done, this is superb!!!
November 10th, 2009 at
Looks very good, is the taste very cheesy? I’m not a huge cheese fan. I love wintery food and how it gives you a warm hug on the inside of your tummy.
November 10th, 2009 at
Oh wow Kay. This casserole truly does appear to be made of awesome… =) It’s 6:30am my time and yet I need to eat that NOW!!
November 10th, 2009 at
[...] since I have nothing of interest to say, I’ll just direct you to this link for a recipe by my Dutch cooking guru, Kay from Kayotic Kitchen. She posted this recipe for ham, [...]
November 10th, 2009 at
@peejeej:
It’s kinda cheesy like this, yes… because the cheese also melts all over the mashed potatoes. You could always make chicory and ham rolls and then sprinkle a little grated cheese on top!
November 10th, 2009 at
Who is thewoman who is leaving you nasty messages, Kay?
November 10th, 2009 at
@Maria:
That’s someone I banned from my blog for leaving really insulting and rude comments. Unfortunately she developed into a online harasser who changes IP numbers in order to leave nasty emails and comments. Dark side to being online, I guess.. you’re bound to run into weirdos. Luckily there are way more nice people than weirdos, so I’ll focus on them in stead :)
November 10th, 2009 at
Thanks for the great recipe. Interesting that you add nutmeg to the mashed taters. Sounds like a great combination of flovors. Thanks for the great recipe and amazing pictures.
November 10th, 2009 at
@Brad:
We add nutmeg to almost anything here. Mashed potatoes, vegetables. You name it, we add nutmeg!
November 10th, 2009 at
@Kay: I’m going to start adding it to more dishes. I like to add nutmeg to steamed veggies at the end of cooking. A little butter, salt, pepper and your good to go.
The pic of the sliced cheese was great. What kind of cheese (swiss?) was in the pic?
November 10th, 2009 at
My mother used to make this with leek ’cause i didn’t like witlof. Yum!
(i’m from belgium)
I heard some people make this with celery!
November 10th, 2009 at
@Brad:
It was only slightly ages Gouda cheese called Jong Belegen. The kind that melts really well. I had my cheese seller preslice it for me. Usually I buy a large piece of cheese, but this is easier.
November 10th, 2009 at
@Kay:
Oh no, not another one of those freaks! So sorry you have to deal with that.
November 10th, 2009 at
@Maria:
So am I! Trust me. If you ever see the name Laura Kockelkorn pop up in your blog, be afraid… be very afraid. Major stalker alert. And you get her husband for free.
November 11th, 2009 at
I first saw you post on Pioneer Woman, and am glad to have found that you have your own site! My husband is from Belgium and a version of this is his very favorite dish– no potatoes, with cheese sauce on the rolls of Belgian endive and ham. I’ll have to show him this when he gets home later to see if he’d like to try this version of it! I’m in North Carolina and I’ve had luck finding Belgian endive at grocery stores such as Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods, as well as at Trader Joe’s. I’ve thought about trying to grow it and found directions where you can grow it in a bucket… may be worth trying because I bet this is a veggie that is great when it’s really fresh.
November 11th, 2009 at
I made this last night and loved it! Wonderful! I forgot to add the mustard and nutmeg to the potatoes, but it was still fantastic. I’ve made endive wrapped in ham or prosciutto, baked, then topped with a cheese sauce in the past, but this takes that to a whole new divine level! As always, your recipes are fantastic. Thanks for sharing this one.
November 11th, 2009 at
Kay, probeer het met oude kaas. Het is een beetje pittiger. Hier in de States doe ik het met scherpe cheddar en peper in de kaasaus
November 11th, 2009 at
@Ingrid Hohn:
Als ik er een kaassaus overdoe, maak ik die meetsal met oude kaas. Maar deze smelt zo heerlijk door die aardappelpuree heen! Zalig.
November 11th, 2009 at
I think that looks like heaven on a plate.
November 11th, 2009 at
This is exciting. For those of you in the US trying to make Kay’s recipes and struggling with the difference in the names of greens, I just talked with my friend who owns a specialty market, showed him all of Kay’s beautiful photos and he has defined terms.
The recipe above looks to be made with “escarole”, not “curly endive”–although I made it with curly endive and it was good. When I bought the curly endive it was labeled curly endive/chicory.
What Kay often calls chicory (as in the ham/cheese/chicory casserole posted in the week of 11.8.09) is actually called Belgian Endive in the states.
My friend says he no longer carries any of the above because they don’t sell here. When he used to carry them it was for restaurants.
My local supermarket (Meijer) sometimes has these items.
I am so excited to finally understand it all!
Now to the cooking!
November 12th, 2009 at
@Kim:
Duh, this is Kim, thought I posted this note on the endive mash recipe. The greens in the curly endive mash recipe are escarole, this one is Belgian endive.
November 12th, 2009 at
Ooohw jammie!! Ik ga dit maken! Vanavond! Alleen dan vervang ik de ham door de veggie ham, omdat ik geen varkensvlees eet. Dat zal toch wel gaan denk je?
November 12th, 2009 at
@love2bake:
Veggie ham? Wat is dat? Wist niet eens dat het bestond!
November 12th, 2009 at
@Kay: hahaha ja echt? Bij de AH is het te koop.
November 16th, 2009 at
This recipe looks yummy and I bought the ingredients to make it. However, the endive (chicory) was very expensive so I only bought two and will half the recipe. I wonder if romaine lettuce could be used in the recipe instead? It’s the closest lettuce to endive in the American market. Another question: you use mustard in the mashed potatoes – my mother used to make a similar dish but it was mashed potatoes with cabbage (which I dearly loved) which she served with pork chops or sausage patties and always with gravy. Her family was Dutch so I guess it is much the same as your recipes using mashed potatoes and vegetables but adapted to what they had in the U.S., but she didn’t use mustard. Is it customary to use mustard in mashed potatoes in the Netherlands?
November 24th, 2009 at
@love2bake, als je alleen geen varkensvlees eet kan het ook met plakjes kipfilet. Zo maak ik het vaak.
@Kay, wat een ontzettend leuke site. Ik zie hem pas voor het eerst, maar ben nu al fan!
December 2nd, 2009 at
@Nicki: Dat is een goed idee! Ik ga het zo proberen! Ik heb z’on trek in de gerecht! Heerlijk!