Utica Greens

[Jenise]

Enjoyed this NYT article about a dish I didn't know existed, Utica Greens, which are only called Utica Greens outside of Utica. Inside Utica, it will be Greens a la _____ name of the chef, or restaurant. Funny too, because I was going to make some bruschetta with escarole (I bought a head yesterday just for this dish) with white beans tonight. Don't have cherry peppers but can sub red bell pepper and hot red chili flakes to build in that flavor.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/101 ... ica-greens

What an education.

Another two words I haven't come across.

escarole
a type of endive

oreganato
The name implies that oregano plays a part, but in this recipe its just oil, bread crumbs and cheese, no mention of oregano.
According to recipes and definitions on the web, oregano is the defining ingredient of ]oreganato..

More accurate to call this recipe cheesy-greens.
Lots of cheese, 1 cup plus at least two table spoons.

I'll pass.

[Jenise]

No escarole in England? It's a wonderful green.

Btw, I made a version of this last night. You could call it, Greens Chez J. Didn't look back at the recipe after posting it, just did what I always do: line up ingredients and do what makes sense. So I lightly sautéed two cloves of minced garlic in plenty of olive oil and stirred in a can of rinsed cannellini beans. Then added a bit of chicken broth and a fat pinch of red chile flakes, and put the escarole on top, already rinsed and dried and more or less torn in half. The bubbling chicken broth steamed the escarole, which I let wilt and then folded into the beans (yes, I considered the blanching a waste of time. What it buys you is color preservation as the greens will turn drab when hit with the acidity of the olive oil. My way got about half that benefit, which was enough, and more flavor.) Turned up the heat and added a bit more chicken broth as I wanted it a bit soupy. Separately I toasted slices of bread, then tiled them on a platter and poured the escarole-bean mixture over. Over that went a generous handful of parmesan cheese. Dinner for two: DONE.

It wouldn't have occurred to me to cook endive. I must try it.

Made this dish last night with chard and pancetta (instead of escarole and prosciutto). It's delicious and a flavorfully decadent way to serve greens.

[Jenise]

Really works well, doesn't it? I would urge you to try escarole sometime, though, and compare the difference. Chard is much stronger. Love the idea of serving it with petrale sole. Next time I see that fish (I can't count on finding anything except frozen salmon and tilapia around here, most of the time, but I buy petrale whenever I see it)--more Utica greens!

For some reason Escarole drives me crazy because the thin leaves stick in my teeth. I really prefer Swiss Chard -- the leaves are thicker and it cooks to a nice rich consistency. As Jenise points out the flavor is stronger than Escarole but I like the flavor of Chard very much, another reason to prefer it. That teeth-sticking thing must not happen to everyone or everyone would find escarole annoying...

I'd have used escarole, but it's harder to find around here. Chard is always available, at pretty much any grocery store. I'll keep an eye out for it, though.

[Jenise]

Mike, that's surprising. Your area is so much more cosmopolitan than mine, but I generally have about a 90% chance of finding escarole when I need it. One store will only have one or two heads out at a time, but they will at least have it.

Yeah, the market I thought would be most likely to have some (Nugget, the local chain) didn't. I did see some escarole at the farmers' market but it looked like it was very young and already separated into leaves. It didn't look quite right for this dish.

There are a couple of other markets I'll have to try.

[Jenise]

Making these tonight. It's Dork night (topic: gamay) and I'm hosting; the group includes a vegan, a pescatarian and what you might call conscientious, organic carnivores. So my menu is going to be all about things to slather on crusty bread and beans with escarole will be a perfect fit.

So my menu is going to be all about things to slather on crusty bread and beans with escarole will be a perfect fit.

Schmaltz!

[Jenise]

I don't even think that's allowed to cross state lines in the PNW.