Chef Juliette
Carottes Glacées pour Garnitures
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Purée de Chicorée
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2091, Purée de Chicorée, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Purée de Chicorée turns braised Belgian endive into a silken, pleasantly bitter companion, held by one-third its bulk of creamed potato and glossed with butter only after the heat is gone.
Side Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
40 min cook•1 hr total
Yield4 servings
Purée de Chicorée (braised chicory purée) teaches one exact lesson: finishing butter is an emulsion, not a cooking fat. Butter on the fire will oil the purée. The pan must leave the heat before those final cold cubes go in.
The classical entry assumed what its few lines did not need to explain: an entremetier tending the chicory, smooth creamed potato already waiting, a tamis for sieving, and a warmed timbale ready for service. It needs no perpetual stockpot, saucier, or salamander. At home, the chicory and potato cook alongside one another, a sturdy fine-mesh sieve replaces the tamis, and a warmed deep bowl replaces the hot-held serving vessel. Separate pans held through service are brigade scaffolding; braising the chicory, sieving away its fibers, keeping the three-to-one ratio, and buttering off the heat are the dish itself. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Done properly, the purée is pale ivory-green, smooth enough to settle beneath the spoon, with chicory's tender bitterness first and cream and butter rounding the finish. The potato must support that flavor without smothering it. Measure the two purées by volume, then remember the step that decides everything: remove the pan from the fire before the finishing butter.
Purée de Chicorée sits in the classical French vegetable repertoire, but its ingredient has its strongest table life in Flanders and northern France, where witloof chicory is called chicon and braised through the cold season. The refined kitchen took that household braise, pressed it through a tamis, and steadied its bitterness with a measured share of creamed potato before serving it beside veal, poultry, or ham. The potato is not filler: at one-third the chicory's bulk, it gives the purée body while leaving chicory as the unmistakable flavor.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Belgian endives
Quantity
8 medium (about 2 lb / 900 g)
bases trimmed and heads halved lengthwise
unsalted butter for braising
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
water
Quantity
1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g)
divided
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g), plus more if needed
divided
floury potato
Quantity
1 medium (about 6 oz / 170 g)
peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
heavy cream
Quantity
1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g)
warmed and divided
cold unsalted butter for finishing
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
cut into small cubes
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Belgian endivesbases trimmed and heads halved lengthwise | 8 medium (about 2 lb / 900 g) |
| unsalted butter for braising | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| waterdivided | 1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g), plus more if needed |
| floury potatopeeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces | 1 medium (about 6 oz / 170 g) |
| heavy creamwarmed and divided | 1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g) |
| cold unsalted butter for finishingcut into small cubes | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) lidded sauté pan
- •3-quart (3-liter) saucepan
- •Potato ricer or food mill
- •Sturdy fine-mesh sieve and flexible scraper
- •Liquid measuring cup for the three-to-one ratio
- •1-quart (1-liter) timbale or deep serving bowl
Instructions
- 1
Braise the chicory
Melt the braising butter in a wide lidded sauté pan over medium heat. Set the endives cut-side down in a snug layer, season with half the measured salt, and add 6 tablespoons (90 ml) of the water. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, cover, and lower the heat. Braise for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until a knife passes through the thick bases without resistance. If the pan dries before the chicory is tender, add the reserved 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water. If the bottom catches, move the endives to a clean pan without scraping up the scorched patch and continue with fresh water. Ça se rattrape, but burnt braising liquor cannot be hidden in a pale purée.
- 2
Cook the potato
While the chicory braises, put the potato in a saucepan, cover it with cold water, and season the water with a little of the remaining salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the pieces crush readily beneath a fork. Drain thoroughly, return them to the dry pan for one minute over low heat, then pass them through a potato ricer or food mill while hot. Dry potato accepts cream cleanly; waterlogged potato makes the finished purée slack.
- 3
Dry and sieve
Uncover the tender chicory and raise the heat to medium. Turn the pieces gently for 4 to 6 minutes, until their braising liquor has reduced back into them and the pan is nearly dry. Do not chase a dark crust because its bitterness will dominate the finished dish. Chop the chicory, then rub it firmly through a sturdy fine-mesh sieve with a flexible scraper, collecting the smooth purée from the underside. A processor may do the chopping, but it cannot replace this final sieving: removing the threadlike fibers is part of the dish, not brigade scaffolding. Measure the volume of the sieved chicory.
- 4
Make creamed potato
Fold 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of the warmed cream into the riced potato over low heat, adding it gradually until the potato is perfectly smooth but still holds a soft mound. Season lightly. Do not beat it aggressively once it has absorbed the cream, or the starch turns elastic. If small lumps remain, press the creamed potato through the sieve while it is still warm.
- 5
Keep the ratio
Combine three parts sieved chicory with one part creamed potato by volume. For 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) chicory purée, use 1/2 cup (120 ml) creamed potato. Chicory varies in water content, so the measuring cup governs, not the hope that every spoonful of potato must go in. Heat the mixture in a clean, wide saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring steadily, until thoroughly hot and dense enough to hold the trail of the spoon. If it is loose, keep stirring over the heat until excess moisture leaves now, before the finishing butter enters. If it is too firm, loosen it with one teaspoon of the reserved cream.
- 6
Monter au beurre
Take the pan completely off the heat and wait about 30 seconds for all bubbling to stop. Monter au beurre, meaning mount the purée with butter, by beating in the cold cubes a few at a time until each disappears and the surface gains a fine, even sheen. Never return the pan to the fire after this point. If yellow beads of butter appear, the purée was too hot: stop adding butter and beat in the remaining cold cream until the emulsion closes again. Ça se rattrape. Taste for salt, spoon the purée generously into a warmed timbale or deep serving bowl, and serve at once. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose firm Belgian endives with tight ivory leaves and pale yellow tips. Loose green heads carry a harsher bitterness and have already lost some of their moisture.
- •Measure three parts sieved chicory to one part finished creamed potato by volume. Chicory sheds a different amount of water from one batch to another, so raw weights cannot preserve the book's proportion as faithfully as a measuring cup can.
- •The sieve is not ceremony. It removes the long fibers that a blade merely shortens, giving the finished purée the close, silken texture the creamed potato is there to support.
- •Serve this beside roast chicken, veal, pork, or good ham. Its gentle bitterness cuts through browned meat and buttered juices without competing with them.
Advance Preparation
- •The chicory can be braised, dried, and sieved up to one day ahead. Chill it promptly in a covered container, then combine it with freshly made creamed potato when ready to serve.
- •The combined purée can be prepared through the heating step several hours ahead. Cover its surface and refrigerate it, then reheat gently, correct the consistency, and add the finishing butter only after the pan leaves the heat.
- •To hold the finished purée for no more than 20 minutes, cover it and set the serving bowl over barely warm water away from the active burner. Do not let it become hot enough to bubble again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 210g)
Calories
250 calories
Total Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
13 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
6 g
Cholesterol
55 mg
Sodium
650 mg
Total Carbohydrates
15 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
4 g
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