A vegetarian endive gratin with tomato, goat cheese and walnuts, without ham or béchamel.
Fresh from the oven, the tomato sauce bubbles around the edges of the dish. The goat cheese melts over the vegetables and the walnuts crunch beneath the spoon. The endives bring a slight bitterness, balanced by the sweetness of the bell pepper, the acidity of the passata and the dried herbs. Without ham or béchamel, this vegetarian gratin still has a meltingly soft, golden topping. For two servings, allow 50 minutes, including 30 minutes of baking at 200 °C. This recipe joins my collection of keto main dishes.
What is endive gratin with tomato?
The gratin topping forms from grated pressed-curd goat cheese on the surface and nuts toasted in the oven. Endives, also called chicons in northern France and Belgium, form the vegetable base. This version departs from the classic gratin of precooked endives, ham and béchamel: here, the endives go into the dish raw, halved or quartered lengthwise depending on their thickness.
They cook with strips of red or yellow bell pepper, a plain passata sauce thickened with almond butter, dried herbs, cheese and nuts. The layering matters: half the cheese and nuts go between the vegetables, and the rest over the sauce, for a vegetable gratin with plenty of sauce at the bottom and a melty, crunchy topping. The almond butter adds body without trying to imitate béchamel.
What makes this version different
This gratin keeps the spirit of a baked endive dish: a slightly bitter vegetable, cooked in a sauce with a cheesy topping. What sets it apart is its tomato base, the absence of ham and béchamel, and the addition of bell pepper and nuts. The result is brighter: the sweetness of the bell pepper balances the acidity of the tomato and the bitterness of the endives, which bake from raw in the herby sauce, without blanching or pan-frying.
The main ingredients
Three or four endives form the base, their freshness and bitterness adding depth to a sweet-tart sauce; halved or quartered lengthwise, they cook evenly and release a little water, making the dish naturally saucy. Red or yellow bell pepper, cut into strips, brings color, flavor and sweetness. Nuts add crunch: walnuts, pecans, almonds or a mixture, a roughly chopped handful.
Pressed-curd goat cheese, young or semi-aged, adds saltiness, a melting texture and a browned topping; goat Gouda works better than a goat cheese log, and for a strictly vegetarian version, check that the coagulant is not animal-derived. Use 200 ml of plain passata; do not replace it with an equal amount of tomato paste, which is too concentrated. Add three tablespoons of oil and one tablespoon of almond butter, preferably made from blanched almonds, to bind the sauce and soften the acidity without sugar. Dried herbs, oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage, along with salt and pepper bring everything to life.
Baking, serving and nutrition
When it comes out of the oven, the vegetables should be tender, the sauce piping hot and the surface golden. The gratin should be soft, sometimes with a little juice at the bottom, and the nuts toasted without blackening. After preheating to 200 °C, allow 30 minutes: the tip of a knife should slide easily into the thickest part of the endives, bubbling indicates a hot sauce, and the cheese should be melted and lightly golden. Drain the washed vegetables, avoid overcrowding them, and chop the nuts roughly without grinding them to a powder.
Serve this gratin as a vegetarian main course for two, with a green salad or arugula. Promptly refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container and eat within three days; reheat in the oven at 180 °C for 15 minutes until the center is piping hot, as microwaving will soften the topping more. Allow approximately 14 g of net carbs and 342 calories per serving, depending on the size of the endives and the nut mixture.
For everyday keto cooking, here are all my low-carb recipes.
Belgian Endive Gratin with Tomato, Bell Pepper and Nuts
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 Belgian endives
- 1 bell pepper yellow or red
- A generous handful walnuts nuts of your choice
- 100 g cheese pressed goat’s cheese, young or semi-aged
- 200 ml tomato passata
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil, mild olive oil or high-oleic sunflower oil
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
- 0.5 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 0.5 teaspoon dried sage
- A pinch pepper black
- A generous pinch salt of Celtic sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
- Wash the Belgian endives and trim off their bases. Cut in half or into quarters lengthwise, depending on how thick they are.3 to 4 Belgian endives
- Wash the bell pepper, remove the membranes and seeds and cut into strips. Arrange the Belgian endives and bell pepper in the baking dish.1 bell pepper
- Lightly crush the nuts in a mortar. For nuts that crumble easily, such as pecans, simply do this by hand. Scatter about half among the vegetables.A generous handful walnuts
- Grate the cheese. Scatter about half among the vegetables and nuts.100 g cheese
- Put the passata in a cup and mix with the herbs, olive oil and almond butter. Pour over the vegetables.200 ml tomato passata, 3 tablespoons avocado oil, mild olive oil or high-oleic sunflower oil, 1 tablespoon almond butter, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme, 0.5 teaspoon dried rosemary, 0.5 teaspoon dried sage, A pinch pepper, A generous pinch salt
- Scatter the remaining cheese and nuts over the sauce. Place the dish in the oven for half an hour.
