Roasting chicory knocks the bitterness out of its sails, but it doesn’t shake its conviction. In fact, there are few leaves that have such resilience in the oven. Despite the adversity, baked chicory retains real substance and character and is utterly delicious, and for wholly different reasons to its raw counterpart. It may seem bizarre to add lemon to an already bitter bash, but the fragrant citrus actually brings out a hidden sweetness in the chicory and it’s generally wonderful with potatoes anyway. Fennel seeds, garlic and thyme make this a seriously good one-tray roast, which is perfect on its own, or with a piece of grilled fish or some roast mutton or lamb.