Braised escarole and beans is a healthful yet comforting meal perfect for winter. Escarole is an endive that looks like lettuce and is full of Vitamins.
Oh hey, escarole! Have you heard of it? Because – and I tell you this with my tail between my legs – I have never cooked with it.
This girl – the one who loves vegetables, who should know how to pronounce, cook with, and devour escarole – fails the escarole exam. But never fear, Kari’s here!
Kari from Loaves n Dishes is guest posting on my site today!
I love her style of cooking! She incorporates every cooking method ever into her recipes and uses fresh ingredients. She inspires me to try new ingredients like escarole, and new cooking techniques.
I never know what she’s going to come up with next, which makes reading her blog exciting. Her meals are mouth-watering, AND she’s a real sweetheart.
Here’s Kari with her show-and-tell!
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Hey y’all!
You don’t know how excited I am to be here at the Roasted Root! I have admired Julia since I first discovered the world of blogging, when I became enamored with her smarts, witty writing, and yummy recipes!
I know that Julia rocks it healthy yummy, and that’s why y’all come here; but darn if it hasn’t been cold and I want something comforting!
Much of the time for me, comforting is something with ooey gooey cheese, or a big ol’ bowl of pasta…or a big ol’ bowl of ooey gooey cheesy pasta!
But comfort food can also be a big ol’ bowl of Braised Escarole and Beans, and this is the kind of comfort that I’m seeking, especially after all the indulgent holiday eating.
Both escarole (aka endive) and beans are low in calories, high in fiber and packed full of nutrients, and because of that you can go ahead and pile on the Parmesan cheese without an iota of guilt! I’ll always find a way to rationalize the use of cheese.
At my house I prefer to eat vegetarian and my man doesn’t!
So I like to have options. I make this dish vegetarian using for the liquid half vegetable stock and half water and I also throw in a Parmesan cheese rind which gives the broth some oomph, and lemon slices for brightness.
For my husband, I roast a chicken breast (or use a rotisserie chicken) and place that on top so that he’s happy; after all a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!
You could skip the Parmesan cheese and just go straight to drizzling some flavorful extra virgin olive oil over the dish.
You’re definitely gonna want something to sop up the yummy broth with; perhaps good toasted bread.
Now that we’ve gotten all comfortable with this comforting dish, I must bid you adieu. Thank you and thanks to Julia for having me!
Braised Escarole and Beans
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 2 pinches red chili flakes
- 1 head Escarole chopped
- 2 cups Chicken stock or plain water, or 1 cup water + 1 cup vegetable stock, low or no sodium
- 1 Parmesan cheese rind optional
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 15-oz can Cannellini beans, drained
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ Lemon sliced
- Parmesan cheese shavings
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and garlic to a large skillet or braising pan; heat over medium-high heat.
- When the garlic becomes golden in color, add the chili flakes and the escarole; give it a toss. Add the chicken stock (or water and vegetable stock), Parmesan cheese rind (optional), bay leaves, beans, salt & pepper, and the lemon slices. Bring the liquid to a boil; then reduce the heat to medium and cook partially covered for 20 to 30 minutes, until the escarole is soft.
- Remove the bay leaves, and ladle the escarole and beans along with the liquid into 2 soup bowls. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and top with parmesan shavings.
- Serve with toasted Italian bread.
I have actually never had escarole before! BUT, I am always on the lookout for new recipes that involve new things. One of my favorite cooking techniques is braising, so this looks like a must try! Plus, it has cheese. Uh, yes puhlease!
Ooh, I hope you do try escarole Taylor, once you do, you may be hooked…Plus it has cheese!
Lovely guest post. I am an escarole lover and don’t cook with it nearly enough. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks so much Andrea! I love all kinds of greens, but escarole is one that I crave the most!
Great guest post! This sounds delicious!
Thanks Natalie!
This looks so delish–I love escarole!
I had never heard of escarole either! But when I Googled I saw the image and we actually have some escarole growing in our garden at the moment. I think it may have been one of my seedling purchases that then lost its tag, and lives now in a nice little corner of the garden with all of my other broadly termed “greens”. I usually eat them raw, but love the idea of trying them prepared another way, so will have to give this a go!
There’s nothing like growing and harvesting your own veggies! Love that you already have escarole on hand. Let me know if you try Kari’s recipe! 🙂
Escarole newbie here, too! But this looks great, Kari, and thanks for the non-vegetarian tip, too! My man refuses meals without meat, so an option that can please us both is one that makes me super happy 🙂
Thanks Stephie! Those men can be a challenge ; )
I saw a dish similar to this recently in Bon Appetit and positively DROOLED so this is for sure a must make in 2014!!
I’ve never had escarole either but this looks like a good way to get to know it! And our house is divided too when it comes to meat vs. no meat, so it’s good to know there are options. Yum!
It seems that now a days many families have at least one vegetarian, it can be a challenge to keep everyone happy!
I’ve never cooked with escarole either but it looks pretty tasty in this dish! It’s making me hungry…
Thanks again for having me over Julia! It was tons of fun here at The Roasted Root!
Thank you very much. This is a nice guest post. I love this.
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Delicious ! Best recipe for Escarole and Beans that I have tried, the lemon adds a nice brightness. Will make this again, my only modification was to add some vegetarian Tofurky sausage, making it a complete and hearty meal.
Thank you!
This was amazing! We made it vegan with homemade veg broth and no rind and ladled over a simple risotto.
That sounds so tasty! Thanks for letting me know, Dana! xo
Actually, unlike the assertion above, endive and escarole are not exactly the same. A comparison can be made to parsley, which is curly and not terribly flavorful, and Italian parsley, which is flat and imparts a lovely flavor to food, especially chopped finely and added at the end. Endive is curly and can taste sharp but escarole is flat and has no bitterness to it.