Store escarole in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until ready to use. When you are ready to use it, separate the leaves from the base and wash well in a sink of cold water. If you are using the escarole for a raw salad, shake or spin off excess water to dry the leaves. If you are cooking it or adding it to soup or stew, it’s ok if there is still some water on the leaves.
Escarole is in a family of vegetables called chicories which also includes radicchio which we’ll be packing in your box within the next few weeks. Escarole has a pretty long growing season and some years it’s hard to get them to full size. It is a cold-hardy green that is best suited for growing in the fall and is sturdy enough to be able to take some frosty, cold nights. In fact, we don’t even think about harvesting escarole until it’s had some chilly nights! The flavor changes dramatically after they’ve had cold treatment. This green does just fine uncovered when freezing temperatures are in the low 30’s and high 20’s, but it can sustain some damage when we get a hard freeze. So, some years we do cover this plant to protect it from freezing too hard on those really cold nights. Due to a warm fall this year, our escarole and radicchio crops are coming in a few weeks ahead of schedule. We’ve been hesitant to start harvesting them because they had not yet had that cold treatment. Thankfully, we did have several chilly nights last week and when we tasted them earlier this week we were pleasantly surprised by how mild their flavor is with a slight sweetness.
Escarole resembles a head of green leaf lettuce, but it does have some distinct differences. First of all the leaves are more broad and a bit more thick when compared to leaf lettuce. The center of a head of escarole and the portion of the leaves near the base are generally blanched to a light yellow or white. While all the leaves are edible, these light colored center leaves tend to be the most tender and mild flavored. As such, this is the portion of the plant you may wish to prioritize for eating raw and save the darker outer leaves for cooking.
Escarole may be eaten raw or cooked. When eaten raw, the bitterness is going to be more pronounced. You’ll find that cooking mellows the bitterness and accentuates the sweet qualities. It’s also important to note that different ingredients help to balance the flavor of escarole, both raw and cooked. Fatty ingredients such as sausage, prosciutto, bacon, duck, hard cheese, olive oil, olives and nuts such as pine nuts and hazelnuts provide a nice counter balance to the bitterness of escarole. Acidic ingredients also perform similarly, which is why you’ll often see recipes for escarole that include vinegar or fruit such as apples, citrus, pears, persimmons and pomegranate. Of course it also makes sense to pair escarole with other fall vegetables such as garlic, onions, beets, potatoes and winter squash. Escarole is a popular used more in Italian cuisine where it is often used in soups or sauteed and/or braised along with white beans, lentils, pork and garnished with a variety of cheeses.
There’s a classic preparation for escarole that some Italian cooks call Scarola Affogata, which means “smothered escarole.” In this dish, garlic is sautéed in olive oil until golden, then chopped escarole, salt and red pepper flakes and seasoning are added to the pan. The greens are cooked until they are soft and tender. This is then served as side dish, or you can use the greens for another purpose, such as on top of a pizza or slathered on a piece of thick, crusty bread.
