• ½ cup whole milk
• 4 heads Belgian endive, outer leaves removed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra
• 4 ounces cooked spinach, squeezed and finely chopped
• 6 ounces ricotta cheese, drained
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 4 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated, divided
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ cup fresh bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Place the milk and 2 cups of water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Slice each head of endive in half lengthwise, keeping the core intact. Add the endive to the boiling liquid, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the endive, and drain well. Pull out some of the inner leaves of each endive to form a hollow cup. Finely chop the removed leaves, and reserve.

Lightly butter a baking dish, and place the endive cups in the dish.

In a bowl, combine the chopped endive leaves, spinach, ricotta, thyme and half of the Gruyère. Season with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste, and mix well. Divide the mixture equally among the endive cups. Top with the bread crumbs and the remaining cheese, and dot with 2 tablespoons butter. Place in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes or until the top is golden.