Chicory with ham and cheese

Brussels lof met ham en kaas

8 heads of chicory
8 slices of cooked ham
1 tbsp lemon juice
100 ml meat stock
1.5 kilograms potatoes
30 grams butter
30 grams flour
125 grams grated cheese
grated nutmeg, salt

Cut a slice off the bottom of the chicory and scoop out the 1/2 inch white bitter part from the centre. Boil water, add the lemon juice and drop the chicory heads in it. Again bring to a boil and cook the chicory for 5-6 minutes. Drain the heads, but keep 200 ml of the juices. Peel, boil and mash the potatoes. Melt the butter in a pan, mix in the flour and gradually add the juices. Mix in 100 grams of grated cheese, add nutmeg.

Wrap each chicory head in ham and place them in a greased deep oven dish. Pour in the meat stock and on top of it half of the cheese sauce. Cover it with the mashed potatoes, sprinkle with nutmeg and add the rest of the cheese sauce.

Top off with the remainder of the grated cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 225 C (440 F) for about fifteen minutes.