Two cups of chopped leaves barely put a dent in the head of escarole staring back at me in the fridge. I needed it for our Seven Fishes seafood stew, now the remainder of it’s girth was contained in a plastic bag. I knew it would burst out like a jack-in-the-box the minute I opened it. The question now was, what should I do with the rest of this bitter green? I decided on a quick and easy escarole, sausage and white bean stew.
Chicory, escarole, frisee, what’s in a name? They are all forms of one plant, endive, that has two primary forms; one with curly feathery leaves, the other with broader more flattened leaves.
The curly feathery variety is marketed as curly chicory or curly endive. Some specialty growers press and keep curly chicory from light during the later stages of the growth process and the green is brought to market as frisee. Frisee is fragile in appearance, but in actuality, is quite sturdy. Because of the extra pains growers must take to produce frisee it is quite expensive. One of the dishes I made for Seven Fishes, sauteed scallops with mushrooms, called for a bed of frisee. The almost ten dollar price tag for one head was even too pricey for me!
Escarole, also referred to as broad leafed endive, is the form that has a large, comparatively flat head. It is a nutritional powerhouse, high in fiber, minerals, vitamins A,K and C and beta carotene. It is like lettuce in form, the outer, darker leaves are more bitter and best suited for cooking. The innermost pale leaves are not as bitter and are an interesting addition to a salad. Escarole can be very sandy so wash it well in several changes of water.
This stew is a classic combination of bitter greens with white beans and sausage. Cooked sausage and canned beans help this dish to come together with minimal fuss and shows that a soup doesn’t have to be complicated to be good. Like many soups it tastes even better after a few days in the fridge.
Spicy Sausage, Escarole and White Bean Stew
Serves four
Ingredients
- 1T olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 15-oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 head escarole, chopped into 1-2 inch pieces, washed and lightly dried
- 1c low salt canned chicken broth or homemade stock
- 12oz cooked Andouille sausage, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1-1/2t red wine vinegar, more to taste
- Kosher salt
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Directions
- Heat the oil in a heavy 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute, then stir in the beans.
- Add the escarole to the pot in batches using tongs, wilting it before adding each addition. Add the chicken broth and the cooked sausage to the pot.
- Cover the pot and cook until the beans are heated through and the escarole is tender, about 8-10 minutes. Season to taste with vinegar and salt.
- Transfer to bowls and sprinkle each portion with some of the Parmigiano-Reggiano.
