Escarole
Escarole is a broad-leaved endive type with large, relatively flat leaves and a flavor that can range from mild to bitter.
- Leaf form
- Broad and relatively flat
- Plant type
- Broad-leaved endive
- Flavor range
- Mild to bitter
What blanching changes
Some endive crops are blanched by excluding light from the center of the plant. The RHS describes the resulting paler leaves as more tender and less bitter. This is a growing method, not an instruction to boil the leaves.
Try it in the kitchen
Cook escarole with olives and capers for a vegetable side, or use young leaves in a salad. Choose broad leaves when you want a different texture from finely frilled curly endive.
Neapolitan pizza di scarola encloses cooked, drained escarole in bread dough. The coastal version also includes olives and capers.
Broad leaves for escarole
Look for the broad-leaved type when buying escarole. A pale center can reflect blanching, but it does not identify a particular local origin.
