Difficulty: Intermediate (3/5)
Bring a large saucepan of salted water with lemon juice to a boil. Trim the base of the endives, remove any outer damaged leaves, and hollow out the base slightly to remove the bitter core.
Blanch the endives in the boiling water for 10 minutes after it returns to a boil. Drain thoroughly, then wrap each endive in a slice of Iberian Bellota ham. Place in a buttered gratin dish.
Preheat oven to 180°C (thermostat 6).
For the béchamel sauce, melt 50 g butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon to form a roux. Lower heat and gradually whisk in milk until smooth and creamy.
Season with salt, ground Sichuan pepper, and nutmeg.
Pour sauce over the endives and bake for 20 minutes until golden. Serve piping hot.
