Escarole With Toasted Garlic Food

SPICY ESCAROLE WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Cook 3 minced garlic cloves in a skillet with olive oil until golden. Add a few pinches of red pepper flakes. Stir in 1 head torn escarole in batches, season with salt and toss. Cover and cook until the greens are wilted, 5 minutes.

BRAISED ESCAROLE WITH OLIVES AND RAISINS

Steps:

• Heat a large straight-sided skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the oil, shallots, garlic and pepper flakes, if using, then season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until the shallots are soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the olives and raisins and stir to combine. Add the chopped escarole and season with the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine and coat the escarole in the flavors. Cover with the lid and allow to steam for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid has evaporated and the greens are tender, another 3 minutes.

ESCAROLE SALAD WITH ROASTED MEYER LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• For the vinaigrette: Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the honey. When the honey has melted, stir it together with the oil. Place the lemons, cut-side down, into the honey mixture; cook until the lemons look charred and the honey has caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the lemons to a baking sheet and let cool. Set the skillet aside.
• Juice the roasted lemons and add 1/4 cup of the juice to a bowl; whisk in the remaining 1 teaspoon honey and the mustard. Once combined, whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil until the dressing becomes emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• For the salad: Return the skillet to high heat. When hot, add the cherry tomatoes and season with salt. Cook until the caramelized honey coats the tomatoes and the tomatoes just begin to char, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
• Combine the escarole, Treviso, almonds, basil and mint in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Toss the salad with the dressing, and then gently fold in the charred tomatoes. Transfer the salad to the serving platter and, using a peeler, shave Parmesan over the top.

GARLIC AND OIL SAUTEED ESCAROLE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and barely simmer until garlic is just beginning to brown. Remove and discard garlic. Pour oil into a clean container and reserve.
• Remove any tough outer or damaged leaves from the escarole. Cut off the tough root end and tear leaves into large pieces. Wash well in a sink filled with cold water. Shake off excess water. In a deep saucepan with cold water to cover by about 2 inches, boil escarole for about 5 minutes over high heat. Remove from heat and drain in a colander. Immediately place escarole in cold water to cover, stopping the cooking process. When escarole is cool, drain well in a colander and pat dry.
• TO MAKE GARLIC AND OIL SAUTE()EED ESCAROLE: Heat oil in a large, heavy sauteG pan over medium heat. Add garlic. Stir in the escarole and sauteG for 3 minutes or until hot. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

BRAISED ESCAROLE WITH GARLIC AND LEMON

Steps:

• Break off the leaves of the escarole and wash them individually, taking care to remove any soil at the base of the stems. Shake the leaves dry, stack them up, and slice the escarole crosswise into ribbons about 1 1/2-inches wide.
• Place a large deep skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Toss in the garlic, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and lemon slices; cook and stir for a couple of minutes, tossing to combine. Nestle the escarole into the pan and saute until it begins to wilt and shrink down, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the escarole with a pinch of sugar and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the water and cover the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes until the escarole is tender.

SAUTEED ESCAROLE

Steps:

• Set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Once the water has started boiling, add the chopped escarole, and simmer for about 5 minutes. The total time will vary based on how tough the leaves are.
• Meanwhile, over medium heat, drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat.
• Lower the heat to medium, add the sliced garlic (3-4 cloves) and sauté for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and just beginning to turn golden. Take care not to let the garlic brown.
• If desired, add a pinch or two of crushed red pepper
• Remove from heat.
• By this time, the parboiled escarole should be tender. Remove with a slotted spoon, allowing the excess water to drain off and place in a bowl. There will be a little bit of liquid that accumulates at the bottom of the bowl.
• Next, add the drained escarole to the pan of sauteed garlic along with a couple of tablespoons of the drained liquid.The oil might splatter a little so be careful.
• Return the pan back to medium heat and simmer for about 5-10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. If there is still a bit of liquid left, raise the heat to cook it off.
• Finally, season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Transfer to a serving dish and if desired serve with lemon wedges.

SAUTEED ESCAROLE WITH GARLIC AND CANNELLINI BEANS

Steps:

• In a large skillet start the garlic in cold oil over moderately high heat, stirring, until it is golden. To the skillet add the escarole, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Saute the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Cook the mixture, covered, over moderately low heat for 4 minutes, or until the escarole is tender, stir in the cannellini beans. Heat through.

SHRIMP AND CHORIZO PIZZA WITH MANCHEGO CHEESE, TOASTED GARLIC, AND ESCAROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500°F. Put a pizza stone or a baking sheet on the middle rack and preheat it along with the oven for at least 20 minutes.
• Put a large skillet over high heat and coat it with the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for only 10 to 20 seconds, until it just begins to lightly brown. You have to keep moving the garlic around the pan so it doesn't burn; if it does, start over because nothing is worse than the flavor of burnt garlic. Quickly add the escarole and season with salt and pepper. Cook, turning the escarole over with the spoon, until it wilts, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, turn out onto a large plate or baking sheet, and allow to cool. If the escarole looks too wet, transfer to a colander and drain in the sink.
• To prepare the pizza, dip the ball of dough into a little flour, shake off the excess, and set on a clean, lightly floured surface. Stretch the dough with your hands, turning the ball as you press down the center. Continue spreading the dough into a 10-inch circle with either your hands or a rolling pin. Leave the dough slightly thick so the topping does not seep through.
• Dust a pizza paddle with flour (if you don't have a paddle you can use a rimless cookie sheet as a substitute) and slide it under the dough. Lightly brush the outer edge of the dough with oil to create a sheen on the surface of the crust. An important tip: take care not to get any oil on the pizza paddle or pan, or else when you try to slide the dough off , it will stick.
• Spread the cheese evenly on the pizza, leaving about a 1/4-inch border. Distribute the shrimp and chorizo evenly over the cheese. Spread the escarole evenly over the top.
• Slide the prepared pizza onto the hot baking stone and bake until the crust is nicely browned, roughly 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and slice with a pizza cutter.
• Ingredient note
• Escarole
• A wonderfully versatile green, escarole remains one of those vegetables that people aren't sure how to prepare. You can eat escarole raw in a salad, and I love it that way, especially with Creamy Parsley Dressing (page 87), but it's at its best cooked. It's less bitter than its cousins radicchio and chicory, and sautéing it mellows out the flavor, making it sweet and vibrant. Escarole can be pretty sandy when you take it home from the market; luckily it is easy to clean. Cut the escarole crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips and put it in a large bowl of water. Swish the water around; the sand will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Lift the escarole out with your hands and put on a kitchen towel to dry. That's it!

WILTED ESCAROLE WITH GARLIC, LEMON AND OIL

Steps:

• Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-low heat with garlic and anchovy. Cook together 3 to 4 minutes to infuse garlic into oil.
• Remove the garlic cloves and stir oil to mix in the melted anchovies and add the red pepper flakes.
• Raise heat to medium-high. When oil ripples or begins to waft smoke, add greens and stir fry them 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice over the greens, toss, and serve.

ESCAROLE SOUP WITH ROASTED GARLIC

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roast garlic cloves for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Cool. Press between fingers to release cloves and place in a food processor. Add pinch of oregano and 1/4 cup of vegetable broth, puree and set aside. Combine remaining vegetable broth, oregano, red bell pepper, carrots, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until pepper and carrots are almost tender, about 7 minutes. Add escarole and tomato, cover and simmer until escarole is wilted, about 5 minutes. Add garlic puree and tofu and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

SAUTEED ESCAROLE WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Add escarole, salt, and pepper. Raise heat to high; cook, stirring occasionally, until escarole is soft and white parts are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt, if desired. Serve immediately.

ESCAROLE WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a deep pot. Drop the escarole into the water all at once. Stir until it is submerged and allow the water to come back to a boil. Cook 1 to 2 minutes and remove the pot to the sink. Run cold water into the pot to stop the cooking and pour the escarole into a colander to drain. Press out excess moisture and reserve.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the garlic in it until softened but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the drained escarole, raise the heat and saute, stirring constantly, until just heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

ESCAROLE WITH GARLIC AND BREAD CRUMBS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Coarsely chop the escarole.
• Add to water, cook 2 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.
• Heat oil in a heavy skillet, add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat until garlic is browned.
• Add bread crumbs and cook until browned.
• Turn heat to high, add escarole, season with salt and pepper, stir and toss until heated through.
• Place in a serving bowl and pour any oil left in the pan over the escarole.