Caramelised chicory

Description

If you have any fondness for chicory, then try this at once. It is just divine. So good in fact that I ate half of it at one sitting, though in theory one chicory alone should be enough per person. Serve hot or warm.

Ingredients

25g/1oz butter
4 heads chicory, trimmed and halved lengthways
2 tsp clear honey
½ large orange, juice only
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Rub half the butter thickly over the bottom of an ovenproof dish, then pack the chicory halves, in a single layer, into the dish. Drizzle over the honey and orange juice and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dot with the remaining butter.
3. Transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, for about an hour, turning and basting the chicory every 15 minutes. Keep a close eye on proceedings towards the end of the cooking time and take the dish out of the oven when the juices have reduced to a few spoonfuls of thick syrup and the chicory is looking suitably caramelised. Serve warm.