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Utica greens

Utica Greens

Recipe 1

  • Cut off and discard the hard bottom stem from each head of escarole
  • Wash the escarole thoroughly, remove any damaged leaves, and rough chop
  • Place escarole in 5 quart stock pot and fill with enough water to cover greens
  • Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 10 minutes (do not overcook) (some of the greens are cooked until the greens are extremely wilted and some people prefer it that way - cook to your liking, I prefer the greens a bit crisp)
  • Drain escarole very well, press out all water/broth from greens, and set asideIn a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat
  • Add hot peppers until softened, about 3 or 4 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes more.
  • Add the cooked and drained greens to pan and stir to combine.
  • Optional but highly recommended - place greens in refrigerator overnight so the garlic infuses through the greens - this changes the flavor!
  • Finish by combining ½ cup toasted breadcrumbs, ¼ cup grated cheese, and 1 tablespoon of ollive then add all but 2 to 4 tablespoons to the greens. (reserve the 2 to 4 tablespoons to top the dish)
  • Add proscuitto/ham, enough chicken broth to moisten the greens, and then taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste
  • Place greens in an over-safe casserole, top with reserved breadcrumbs and cheese
  • Place casserole under broiler for 4 to 6 minutes until brown checking frequently

Ingredients

  • 2 large heads escarole (or any greens that you like; kale, swiss chard, etc)
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 to 4 cherry hot peppers (to taste), chopped/not seeded*
  • ⅓ pound of proscuitto (can also use salami, bacon, other ham)
  • ½ cup breadcrumbs 
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano (my preference
  • ¼ to ½ cup chicken stock
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Notes

Made 2016-10-2. Came out bad. Needed more/different bread crumbs, escarole was chewy (need to cook longer?), forgot the chicken stock step. Slightly burnt cheese (I think baking will work better than broiling). Should make in smaller casserole dish.

Recipe 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn0H2Fi70zY

Prep Escarole

  1. rouch chop 2 heads of Escarole
  2. blanch (2 minutes)
  3. rinse under cold water to stop cooking
  4. drain

Saute ingredients

  1. Saute Panchetta (or bacon or prosciutto)
  2. Add jalapeno (or hot long itallian peppers)
  3. Add chopped garlic
  4. 1 Cup chicken stock
  5. Add morloti beans (aka cranberry) or white beans
  6. Add escarole
  7. 1/2 Plain breadcrumbs, slightly fold in
  8. Red pepper flakes & pepper
  9. Dust top with dusting of extra breadcrumbs
  10. Finely grated Parmesan

Broil until top has browned