Braised Chicory Recipe - Great British Chefs

Starter
medium
4
45 minutes

PT45M

Steve Drake's inventive chicory recipe carefully balances a range of surprising flavours with aplomb. The chicory is braised in pale ale, then served with pickled peaches, a peach and hazelnut dressing, Monmouthshire ham and a grating of Gruyère for good measure.

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Ingredients

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Braised chicory

2 chicory, large
165ml of Meantime IPA, decanted
1/2 orange, juiced
2 tbsp of olive oil

Pickled peaches

2 peaches, ripe
170ml of distilled vinegar
140g of caster sugar

Peach vinaigrette

50ml of peach juice
25ml of hazelnut oil
25ml of olive oil
Chardonnay vinegar, to taste
1 bunch of sweet cicely, chopped
salt

To serve

1 red chicory, small
16 slices of ham, preferably Monmouthshire
150g of Gruyère
1 tsp poppy seeds, toasted

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Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3.5

To start the dish, cut the chicory in half, heat a wide oven-proof pan with the olive oil and add the chicory cut-side down. Brown slightly, add the ale and orange juice and turn the heat to high

2 chicory, large
2 tbsp of olive oil
165ml of Meantime IPA, decanted
1/2 orange, juiced

Bring to the boil, place a lid on the pan and cook in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove the chicory and reduce the liquor over a high heat until a syrup consistency is achieved. Remove from the heat and return the chicory to the pan

To make the pickled peaches, first make the pickling liquor. Add the vinegar and sugar to a pan and place over a low-medium heat. Simmer very gently for 10 minutes

170ml of distilled vinegar
140g of caster sugar

Remove the stones and cut the peaches into wedges. Place in a shallow container, pour over the boiling pickling syrup, then allow to cool

2 peaches, ripe

For the peach vinaigrette, whisk the hazelnut oil, olive oil and peach juice together with a pinch of salt and add Chardonnay vinegar to taste, aiming for a good level of sharpness. Just before serving, add the chopped sweet cicely

50ml of peach juice
25ml of hazelnut oil
25ml of olive oil
salt
Chardonnay vinegar, to taste
1 bunch of sweet cicely, chopped

If needed, warm the chicory through in the oven for 3 minutes

Wash the red chicory and cut off the base. Cut each leaf in half down the centre of the stem

1 red chicory, small

To serve, lay the warm braised chicory across the plate and arrange the peaches around it. Tear the ham into pieces and lay over the plate. Add two pieces of red chicory, sprinkle over a few toasted poppy seeds and a spoonful of the vinaigrette. Finally, grate the Gruyère cheese over the top and serve

16 slices of ham, preferably Monmouthshire
150g of Gruyère
1 tsp poppy seeds, toasted

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Steve Drake

Steve Drake started cooking while attending South End Technical College. Only a few years later, he started working his way up the ladder at The Ritz and earned a prestigious Roux Scholarship. Now he cooks at Sorrel, a modern British restaurant in Dorking, Surrey.