Italian Escarole Pizza Food

ESCAROLE ITALIAN STYLE

Steps:

• Cut ends off escarole & seperate leaves. Place in a sink full of cool water and let soak while agitating.
• Meanwhile, in large wide pan, saute shallots in oil until soft and browning, add minced garlic and 1/2 salt and saute another minute.
• Rough chop escarole and with a bit of the water clinging to leaves and add to pan.
• Add remaining salt.
• NOTE It will be ALOT until it starts to wilt just keep turning from the bottom. Saute 15 to 20 minutes or until most of the water is evaporated and escarole is tender. Sprinkle with red pepper if desired.

ITALIAN ESCAROLE PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Lightly brush pizza crust with olive oil. Spread with a thin layer of pizza sauce, and sprinkle with minced garlic. Remove thick stems from escarole, and arrange leaves over pizza. Cover with shredded mozzarella.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

PIZZA ESCAROLE (ESCAROLE PIE - ITALIAN)

Steps:

• Cut bottom off escarole. Then cut in half. Clean escarole in sink of water as many times until water is clean and no dirt. Boil in pot of salted water until tender - approximately 20 minutes. If bitter add 1-2 teaspoons sugar. Drain very well. Squeeze out all excess water with hands or in paper towel or dish towel.
• Next sauté escarole in frying pan with garlic and olive oil. Cold garlic 1st in cold oil or else escarole becomes crisp. Add red pepper flakes if you like it hot.
• Add drained, sliced olives and salt as desired. Keep in mind anchovies will be salty. When done, drain excess oil out of escarole via colander.
• Place dough in oiled then buttered pan (I use brush). Make sure dough comes up sides of pan. Put escarole mixture inside dough. Add anchovies on top in layered pieces. Stir lightly through. Put on top layer of dough for crust. Pinch seems together tightly of top and bottom dough layers. Brush with oil on top and melted butter. Make fork holes for ventilation.
• Bake 400ºF for 15 minutes. Then reduce to 350ºF for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Brush melted butter on top crust when removed from oven.

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.

ESCAROLE PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the pizza dough. Dissolve the yeast in one cup lukewarm water and let it stand for five minutes, or until it has begun to ferment. If the mixture does not ferment, throw it away and use another package of yeast.
• If using a food processor, fit the bowl with a steel blade and put in the flour, olive oil, salt, yeast mixture and remaining water into the bowl. Process until the dough forms a ball -about 20 seconds. Place the dough on a smooth surface and knead for a couple of minutes, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky.
• If using the hand method, combine the flour and salt and place the mixture on a smooth working surface. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, olive oil and remaining water. Gradually work the flour into the liquid, using a wooded spoon. When the dough is too stiff to work with the spoon, knead until it is smooth and shiny, about eight to 10 minutes. Add more flour if the dough gets too sticky.
• Put the dough in a large floured mixing bowl. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let it rise for two hours in a warm place (the back of the stove, for example) until doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough, sprinkle it with flour and knead for a minute. Flour a 12-inch pizza pan and roll out the dough with a rolling pin directly onto the pan. Brush with olive oil. Let rise for an hour.
• Meanwhile, make the escarole topping. Wash the leaves and simmer them in boiling water for five minutes. Drain, squeeze out the water and chop the leaves coarsely. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and gently saute the garlic, olives, anchovies and pine nuts until the garlic begins to turn golden. Add the escarole and cook uncovered stirring frequently for 10 minutes over moderate heat. Stir in the raisins and capers and season with pepper.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Bake the pizza for 10 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and spread with the escarole mixture. Season with pepper. Return to the oven and bake a further 15 minutes.

ESCAROLE PIZZA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the anchovies and cook, stirring, until they dissolve into a paste, 30 to 60 seconds. Stir in the olives, capers and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the flavors are well combined, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium and add the escarole to the pan, little by little as the leaves will quickly wilt and make room for more. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until tender, 5 to 8 minutes.
• To prepare the pizza, by lightly brushing the entire pie with olive oil. Leaving a ½-inch border of dough around the edge of the pie, spread a thin layer of the escarole and grated Parmesan cheese over the dough and bake.

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.