Delicious Dutch: chicory bake with deviled eggs

Lekker Hollands by Rudolph van Veen is an ode to Dutch cuisine, with more than 70 recipes from the past and present. Chicory naturally has to be included. But how do you prepare it in the most delicious way? Rudolph: ‘With boiled chicory rolled in thinly sliced ham, topped with cheese and baked in the oven, something is still just missing… Hence the deviled eggs. The chicory, bubbling hot from the oven, combined with the cold eggs is simply the perfect combination!’

• Cook the chicory in plenty of water for 20 minutes until tender. Drain it well in a sieve. Cut a small piece off the bottom and halve the heads lengthwise.
• Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Wrap each head of chicory in a slice of ham and place it in a buttered baking dish. Arrange the chicory rolls snugly next to one another. Sprinkle grated young Gouda over the chicory rolls and dot with butter here and there.
• Place the dish in the oven for 20 minutes, so the chicory becomes piping hot and the cheese melts deliciously and gets lightly browned.

• Make the deviled eggs. Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, cool them in cold water and peel them carefully. Rinse the peeled eggs once more in cold water, halve them lengthwise and carefully scoop out the yolks.  Rinse the egg whites clean again with cold water and leave them to drain upside down on kitchen paper.
• Place the yolks in a fine-mesh sieve and set it over a suitable bowl. Press the egg yolks through the sieve with a gravy spoon so they become beautifully fine. Scrape the underside of the sieve clean. Season the yolks with a little aromat and add the mayonnaise. Stir everything together with a spoon until you have a smooth, creamy egg mixture.
• Place the egg whites on a serving dish with the openings facing upwards and fill them with the yolk cream. You can use a piping bag with a star nozzle for this, but a teaspoon works just as well. Garnish the deviled eggs with a touch of paprika and a sprig of fresh chervil or flat-leaf parsley.