Escarole

In my haste to plant the garden I put in a bed of escarole. It should have been planted later in the summer to prevent bolting and encourage heading. Nevertheless we are having a long cool spring and I have a ton of escarole and the bed needs thinned. What else would you do with the bounty ? Have done beens/greens; torta in puff pastry; frittatta; saute with sausage for pasta; saute with potatoes. Any other favorites for escarole ?

The cool spring has been great for the snap peas - picking now for 2 weeks and still going strong. Another beneficiary has been fennel. I let the volunteer seeds grow and now have TNTC thumb sized bulbs that are outstanding done on the grill. Lettuces, chicory and kale are thriving. The squash/cucumber family lags in these temps. Tomatoes will be many weeks yet.

I love this time of year also because I can come home, walk out to the garden and harvest for dinner.

Oh, I wish I had been able to have a garden this year. You are making me so envious!

Escarole is great with shaved fennel in a simple salad with a vinaigrette.

Bon Appetit, or maybe it was Gourmet, had a crostini with escarole and bacon some time back. I'm sure it would turn up on a search at Epicurious.

Clean it, cut it up, blanche and freeze it for Beans & Greens over next winter.

Escarole soup is a house favorite. Basically, start with chicken broth, add escarole, onion, orzo or rice (and a sausage if you want more meat) and cook until the orzo or rice is fully cooked. Season to taste.

Mark Lipton