As I’ve mentioned, my wife and I belong to a local farm delivery service that provides mainly organic produce at the height of a particular fruit or vegetable’s growing season. The service, for locals, is called Just Farmed and operates out of Westfield. This week, we received a head of escarole. I was excited as I don’t have a lot of experience with escarole. I knew it was a bitter green and that it is typically braised. So, since I lack some experience with the vegetable, I went with a traditional cooking preparation: simply braising it in a stock with thinly sliced garlic and onion and finished with a bit of lemon zest to perk everything up. I probably would have used a shallot instead of an onion but onion is what I had on hand and I didn’t feel that it warranted a special trip to the store. So, feel free to use either…you can’t go wrong with onion or shallot (unless you’re my dad, who dislikes both). The good news here is that this dish probably takes around 30 minutes, which is a relatively short amount of time for a traditional braise.

Full disclosure: I probably overcooked this. It tasted great but I waited until the already reduced stock, reduced to a small amount of liquid in the pan and as such, I believe the escarole became overdone. So, learn from my mistake and use a small amount of stock. You can always add more if needed! Either way, the finished dish tasted great and imparted a slight bitterness that was certainly mitigated by the sweetness of the onion and hint of lemon zest.  Recipe follows after the jump.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 or 2 heads of escarole (I used one and it comfortably served my wife and I, using it as a side dish).

½ yellow onion, thinly sliced

5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 Fresh bay leaves (or 1 dried bay leaf)

1 Quart stock (vegetable or chicken work well, preferably homemade but store bought is fine). Alternately you can use 1 cup of water, plus a bit more as needed.

¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

Kosher Salt to taste

Zest of ½ small to medium sized lemon

Instructions:

• Take quart of stock and bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and allow to reduce to a ½ cup or so (I used a cup or so and was probably too much). Have a cup of water on hand in case you need to add a touch more liquid to the pan to finish cooking. Once reduced, set aside.
• Wash Escarole head thoroughly. Cut leaves in half or thirds if large and set aside.
• In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, add ¼ cup of olive oil (or enough to coat the pan. Could be more, could be less depending on pan size.).
• Add the bay leaves to the oil.
• Add pinch of red pepper flakes. After 30 seconds, add onions to pan. Add pinch of salt to pan. Cook 3-5 minutes and then add garlic. Cook another couple minutes stirring frequently until the garlic is slightly browned.
• Increase heat to medium high and add escarole. The water from the washing will help steam the greens and keep everything from burning. After 30 seconds, move slightly wilted escarole around in the pan with tongs. The bulk of the escarole will reduce significantly as it goes. Continue with this process until the escarole is completely wilted and the onion, garlic, and olive oil are completely incorporated into the greens.
• Add stock (or water if you aren’t using stock), and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to cook for around 15 minutes. Check escarole for doneness. If wilted and tender, remove lid and allow the escarole to continue to cook while the liquid further reduces. Cook for around 10 more minutes (could be less) until the stock/liquid is reduced to a few tablespoons. (After the initial 15 minute braising/cooking period, check for liquid level. If the pan is almost dry, add a bit more water or stock, if you have it. Just eye ball it keeping in mind that you don’t want a lot of liquid in the end.).
• Taste and add salt and extra red pepper flakes as needed.
• Place in bowl, add lemon zest sprinkled over the top, and serve immediately.