Grown indoors in the dark, endives are among the perfect winter vegetables, usually used in salads but also lovely when cooked. This simple gratin benefits from good, dark stock, but the addition of Parmigiano-Reggiano will cover you if you resort to canned stock.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　4 whole Belgian endives

　　1 cup good-quality stock

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

　　

Step 1

Remove just a couple of the outer leaves from each of the endives; rinse them and put them in a skillet in one layer. Add the stock and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat the broiler.

　　

Step 2

Cover the endives with the cheese and run under the broiler, just long enough to slightly brown the cheese. Serve with a slotted spoon.

　　From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books.Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.