Stuffed Escarole

Name: Stuffed Escarole
Yield: serves 4 to 6
Ingredients: 1 large head escarole; 3 cups cubes of day-old country bread; 2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled; 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1/4 cup chopped oil-cured black olives; 1/2 cup finely shredded provola; 3 tablespoons drained tiny capers in brine; 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

December 14, 2011

Italians love the chicory family of vegetables, of which escarole is a member. Escarole was one of the abundant leafy green vegetables that they could readily find in the States. Today it has fallen out of favor, but when I opened Buonavia, my first restaurant, in 1971, we were cooking escarole by the bushel. We served it in soups, braised with garlic and oil as a side dish, in salads, and for an appetizer; or we would stuff it, as in the recipe below. In Italy, stuffed greens served with beans would often have been the whole meal, not just a side.

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