Chicory (Cichorium intybus) became fashionable in France before the French Revolution and especially during the continental blockade imposed by Napoleon on coffee imports. Unlike coffee it contains no stimulants. In 1858 the Breton, Jean-Baptise Alphonse Leroux founded his chicory factory in Orchies near Lille. Leroux is among the oldest family companies in France and produces about 35,000 tons of roasted chicory per annum – equivalent to about 40 % of world production. The chicory is related to the endive, leaf chicory, witloof and a many other names and is a very popular vegetable

in France where the shoots are prepared as a salad, steamed, baked or as a vegetable. Root Chicory is available in three forms

• Granulated or ground
• Soluble
• Liquid

Coffee chicory develops magnificent slightly bitter roots and once harvested, the roots are washed, thoroughly cleaned and sorted and then very thinly sliced and diced. In a rotating compression air oven, chicory loses 75 % of its moisture and dried into cossettes which are stored dry over a period of 3 months. It is then roasted – a skilled process requiring caramelizing the dried juice without burning it. Hear a recipe for the relative chicory, baked chicory – known, amongst other things, as endive.

BAKED CHICORY

Ingredients

• 30 g unsalted buter
• 110 g chicory leaves
• 50 g smoked prosciutto
• 150 ml  double cream
• 120 ml white wine
• 55 g extra mature cheese
• 110 g fresh bread crumbs
• 80 g unsalted butter

Method

• Preheat the oven to 220 C.
• Melt the butter in a large pan – gently.
• Fry the chicory leaves very lightly in the pan for 3 minutes.
• Pour in the cream, white wine and cheese and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish.
• Cover with prosciutto to form a single layer
• Melt the butter in a frying pan and pour in the bread crumbs, combining well together.
• Remove from the heat and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top of the chicory mixture.
• Bake in the oven for about5 minutes or until golden.
• Serve.