escarole

During Lent, I wanted to try something different for a meatless Friday meal. For whatever reason, I didn't get a chance to stuff escarole. Recently, I had the time and thought this would be something different for supper. In the cookbook, "Lidia's Italy," by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, there is a Neapolitan recipe for stuffed escarole. I thought of it as an Italian version of stuffed cabbage. For those who are vegetarian, this is a wonderful dish to try as it's very satisfying. Escarole is high in fiber, contains vitamins A and B, which have antioxidant properties, and contains essential B complex groups of vitamins to name a few benefits.

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Besides the obvious escarole, the recipe calls for pine nuts, which I omitted, freshly made bread crumbs, pecorino cheese, golden raisins and capers. I purchased two beautiful heads of escarole from Delicious Orchards and was able to purchase golden raisins in Wegmans in their Nature's Market area, which they sell items in bulk, and the olives from their cheese shop. 

It probably took approximately one hour to prepare this dish as you have to blanch the escarole, prepare the bread crumbs and filling and finally stuff the escarole. Total cooking time was 35-40 minutes as the escarole rolls had to bake covered for 30 minutes then an additional 5-10 minutes to get the rolls caramelized and toppings crisped. 

​My husband and I enjoyed this meal. It a meatless, yet filling. The flavor of the filling with the capers and olives was a delightful savory taste.