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how to store escarole: in the fridge in a bag.
I’m a fan of escarole. It’s a crunchy green with a bit more heft than lettuce, and it makes a great salad: on it’s own simply dressed or tossed with 10 other things to make a grand main course salad. In my heart though I’m a cooked greens fan, always. I like escarole cooked up with garlic in my Standard Cooked Greens Recipe: garlic oil heat cleaned cooking green: apply together and you have a great side dish or taco stuffing. -Julia
Escarole Article from Andy in the Ladybug Postcard
Julia’s Escarole Sausage Dinner Soup
up to a pound of sausage of just about any kind (half a pound, even a quarter pound is fine for the flavor, you could also use 2-4 slices bacon here, and of course this is easily skipped for a vegetarian version.)
1-2 onions or leeks cleaned and diced
2-6 garlic cloves minced or roughly chopped
1-2 cups cooked beans (white, pinto, garbanzo.... yes, it’s fine to use a can of beans!)
1 can diced tomatoes (about 2 cups or 15 oz.)
2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
Parmesan rind, if available
2-5 cups cleaned chopped escarole or other cooking green such as chard, dandelions, kale, spinach...
Brown the sausage, drain off excess fat if there’s lots, then remove the sausage for just a bit. Add the onions to brown in the sausage drippings and cook until transluscent then add the garlic and cook for a few seconds more. Then quickly add the beans and tomatoes and broth and parm. rind. Add the sausage back and bring the pot to a low boil. Then add the cooking greens and cook through. (3-4 minutes for escarole, less for young spinach, more for kale or collards....) Serve.
Escarole Frittata from Chef Jonathan Miller
Great anytime, but also a great buffet dish, this frittata looks wonderful with a colorful topping of tomatoes, or salsa. Meat eaters can add sausage.
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1 head escarole, chopped
8 eggs, beaten
½ c grated fontina or gruyere
3 T parsley, chopped
Heat the oil in a 10 inch skillet, preferably cast iron. Sauté the onion and pepper until softened but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the escarole and some salt and sauté until wilted and soft. Combine the eggs, the cheese, and the parsley together and pour into the skillet, making sure the ingredients are evenly distributed. Cook over low heat, covered, until the eggs are set,
another 5-8 minutes or so. Alternatively, finish the top of the frittata under the broiler. Allow to cool and then unmold to a serving plate. Top with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, your favorite salsa, and some sliced tomatoes on the side.
Escarole and Anchovies from Chef Jonathan Miller
A super quick and surprisingly flavorful dish. Use it by itself or top it with your favorite meat. The liquid exuded from the escarole becomes the sauce. Delicious.
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 anchovies, chopped
1 head escarole, chopped
Heat the olive oil and the garlic in a large skillet until fragrant but not browned. Add the anchovies and escarole with a little bit of salt and sauté until wilted and softened. Taste for seasoning,
and transfer to a serving plate. Serve warm as a side dish, or top with fish or another meat.
Chicken Sausage, Escarole and White Bean Stew
adapted from Take 5 150 five-ingredient recipes
edited by Nancy Gagliardi et al makes 4 servings
1 pound Italian chicken or turkey sausage links (hot or mild)
1 onion, or 1 stalk spring garlic, or 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped (optional)
1 head escarole (1# ish), cut crosswise into inch-thick pieces
1 14 ounce can broth (seasoned chicken, plain chicken, vegetable... your choice)
1 15 ounce can white beans (sometimes called cannellini beans), drained and
rinsed
2 C water
1/3 cup chopped genovese or other basil
S and P to taste
1. Spray a large dutch oven (nonstick if you have one) with olive oil (or other) spray and set over medium-low heat. (NOTE: if you're NOT counting calories/ ‘points', you can use 1 or more T regular olive oil in this step.) Add the sausage and onion/garlic and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Remove sausages to a cutting board and slice when cool enough to handle.
2. Return sausage to the same pot; add the escarole, broth, beans, and water. Bring Stew to a simmer and cook until escarole is just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and add S and P to taste (it might not need any salt), and serve. (note: since this is from a Weight Watchers book: it tells us that each 1.5 cup serving is worth ‘5' points. They say to make it ‘4' points, use reduced fat kielbasa instead. You can substitute most any cooking green for the escarole)
Favorite Escarole Salad as Martin prepares it:
4 heads escarole, dark outer leaves removed, washed and torn into large bowl. Dress with: olive oil, sherry or champagne vinegar, shaved parmesan, S & P, and truffle oil. this is very very delicious.
Wilted Escarole
3 T olive oil
2 medium escarole - rinsed, dried and chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
chopped zest from one lemon
2 tablespoons capers, roughly/barely chopped
10 dark, pitted olives, kalamata are good here
ground black pepper to taste
Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add escarole;
cook and stir until greens begin to wilt. Stir in lemon juice & zest. Add
capers, S & P, and olives; cook and stir for another 15-30 seconds.
Blanched Escarole with Fried Capers adapted from 366 Healthful Ways to Cook Leafy Greens by Linda Romanelli Leahy
1 bunch escarole (about 1 pound), trimmed and shredded
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon unsalted capers, drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons thinly sliced lemon zest for garnish, optional
1. Drop the escarole in a pot of salted boiling water. Cook
3 to 5 minutes until it is as tender as you like. Drain well.
2. While the escarole is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet
over medium heat. Add the capers and cook 2 minutes; remove with a slotted
spoon.
3. Stir in the drained escarole, salt and pepper and heat through. Place on
a serving plate and top with the capers and lemon zest, if using. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
Escarole and White Bean Salad with Fennel and Gruyere Cheese adapted from The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison with Edward Espe Brown
1/2 cup small dry white beans 1/4 teaspoon salt Mustard Vinaigrette
(see below)
1 tablespoon green onions chives, thinly sliced
1 to 2 tablespoons Italian Parsley, chopped
1 small fennel bulb or several celery stalks, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
3 ounces Gruyere cheese, cut into julienne
Pepper
6 handfuls (about 12 cups) escarole leaves
2 tablespoons butter 2 slices rye bread or Country French Bread, cut into
cubes for croutons
Sort through the beans and rinse them well. Cover them with boiling water and let them soak for 1 hour; then pour off the soaking liquid. Cover them generously with fresh water, bring them to a boil, add the salt, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until the beans are tender but still hold their shape, 45 minutes or longer, as needed. Drain, and save the liquid to use in a soup stock. (I would be occasionally tempted to skip this step with a can of rinsed cannelloni beans... JW) While the beans are cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. When the beans have cooled down so that they are warm but no longer hot, toss them with half the vinaigrette and the herbs, fennel and cheese. Season to taste with salt, if needed, and freshly ground black pepper, and set aside. Prepare the greens. Use the pale inner leaves of the escarole, torn or cut into pieces; tear or slice the radicchio into smaller pieces. Wash the greens carefully, giving special attention to the bases of the escarole leaves, which often hold a lot of silt. Spin them dry and if they are not to be used right away, wrap them in a kitchen towel and store them in the refrigerator. Melt the butter in a skillet, add the bread cubes, and toss them well. Fry them over low heat until they are brown and crisp all over, shaking the pan every so often so they don't burn. To assemble the salad, toss the greens with the remaining vinaigrette; then add the beans and the croutons and toss again. Arrange the salad in a shallow, flat bowl with the beans distributed evenly among the greens.
Mustard Vinaigrette 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds 1 1/2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 2 Tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream 6 tablespoons virgin olive oil Grind the tarragon and the fennel seeds with a pestle to bruise them and partially break them up. Put them in a bowl with the vinegar, salt, mustard, and creme fraiche or sour cream, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the olive oil vigorously until the ingredients are completely amalgamated into a thick sauce. The dressing will be very strong.
ESCAROLE SOUP
1/4 lb White beans
5 c vegetable or chicken broth
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 onion, diced
2 c chopped escarole
Salt and pepper -- to taste
croutons, optional
SOAK THE BEANS OVERNIGHT IN WATER. Drain. Place beans in a pot, add broth, cover and cook over medium heat until beans are soft, about 30 minutes. (or use canned white beans if there isn't time to soak and cook...) Meanwhile, place another pot on the stove, add oil, place over medium heat, add garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes, or until onions soften. Add the escarole and continue to cook until wilted, another 10 minutes. Add the beans and broth to the pot with the escarole. Add salt and pepper as desired, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve hot, with the addition of croutons if desired. serves 8
Fall Escarole Salad
1 Escarole heart
couple of Fuyu Persimmons
1/4 c pomegranate seeds
toasted hazel nuts
balsamic or lemon juice vinaigrette
Season the escarole with some of the vinaigrette. spread the escarole in a wide platter. slice the persimmons on top, sprinkle the pom. seeds, sprinkle the halved hazel nuts. Drizzle with more vinaigrette and if you have hazel nut oil, drizzle that on top as well.
Baked Leg of lamb with Wilted Escarole
Serves 6 adapted from Chez Panisse and the Wine Spectator
5 - 6 pound whole leg of lamb Trim the fat as much as possible.
Marinade:
2 onions sliced
6 - 8 garlic cloves lightly crushed
6 - 8 thyme sprigs
6 - 8 oregano or marjoram sprigs
1 bottle dry white wine
1 cup olive oil
In a shallow dish large enough to hold the lamb mix the above ingredients and then add the lamb. rub the marinade all over he lamb. let the lamb marinate overnight or 6 -8 hours. turn the lamb frequently if you can.
Preheat the oven o 450 F. remove the lamb from the marinade about 2 hours before serving. dry the lamb from the marinade. Make a stiff paste with some of the marinade by removing the thyme, oregano or marjoram leaves, and the garlic, chop finely. Season with salt and pepper. Rub the paste all over the lamb. place it on a rack over a shallow pan in the oven. Bake for 15 min. reduce heat to 350 F. turn the lamb over 30 min. bake for another 30 min. urn again and bake for 15 min. Remove the lamb from the oven and let it rest for 15 min.
Wilted Escarole Vinaigrette:
1 1/2 to 2 pounds escarole
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Wash and trim the escarole; cut into about 3/4 inch strips. just before carving the lamb, heat 1/2 cup oil, in a saute pan, over low heat until it is very warm, but not hot. Add the escarole to the pan all at once and cover. Remove the cover and stir in 3 tablespoons or more of red wine vinegar. season with salt and pepper for taste.
Carve the lamb and put on a platter. drizzle with the carving juice, put the wilted escarole on the plate and pour the remaining vinaigrette over the lamb and the escarole.