Chicory-cheese

Chicory-cheese soup with bacon and potato! Ingredients: • 5 Chicory (Belgian endive) • 1 white onion • 4 garlic cloves • bacon • 1 liter vegetable broth • 3 cups of graded cheese • 4 potatoes • 1 glass of dry white wine • black pepper • 1. Cut your potatoes in small dices and boil them until they are cooked. Slice your chicory and keep the tips separate from the stumps. The stumps have a stronger flavour and you use those to make sure the soup has a good chicory flavour. 2. Bake the bacon bits and keep them aside. 3. Take a big soup pan and fry your sliced onion and garlic with the black pepper until they start to get golden brown. Add and bake the chicory stumps for a few minutes.

4. Throw in the wine and broth and bring to a boil. As soon as the stumps are boiled, add half of the cooked potatoes and puree everything. Add the cheese and puree some more. It won't be completely smooth. If you want that, sift the soup before adding the cheese.

5. As soon as the soup has the right consistency, add the chicory tips, bacon and the other half of the potatoes. I prefer my chicory tips a bit crunchy, but you can boil them in the soup a little longer if you don't. If you use a nice, old cheese and bacon, you don't need to add any salt.

For a vegetarian version, leave out the bacon and add salt if needed. Lovely with a nice piece of bread!