Oh how I love escarole! And oh how pleased I was to discover escarole’s popularity in Italy. Italians use escarole as often as we use spinach in the United States—sautéed for a quick side dish, added into your favorite soup for a bit of color, and yes, even eaten raw in a crisp, fresh salad. A member of the chicory family, escarole’s broad green leaves are full of essential vitamins and minerals, but lack to true bitterness associated with other members of the endive family (i.e. radicchio and endive).
I love this recipe for Savory Escarole Pie because of its traditional flavor accompaniments—the majority of the time that you eat escarole in Italy, it has been sautéed in olive oil with a touch of salt and pepper, before a handful of sweet golden raisins, briny olives and capers, and buttery pine nuts are added into the mix. That is precisely what we have here: buttery, flaky pate brisee filled with tender escarole, golden raisins, capers, olives, pine nuts—and let’s not forget thinly sliced garlic. Buon appetito.
(To view the recipe click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Savory Escarole Pie
Ingredients:
- * Recipe Courtesy of Mami Camilla Cooking School*
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make a double layer of savory shortbread or pate brisee to fit a 9-10 inch tart pan; prick the top and bottom layer tiny holes with a fork.
- In a large pot, blanch one head of escarole (torn into large pieces) in lightly salted water. Drain and set aside.
- In a large sauté pan, heat ¼ cup of olive oil and 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves over medium- high heat. Add the blanched and drained escarole, along with a pinch of salt and black pepper, ¼ cup of black olives, capers, and golden raisins, and 2 tablespoons of pine nuts. Cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat, stirring often, until the escarole is coated in the olive oil and flavors have come together. Let this mixture cool to room temperature.
- Spoon the cooled escarole mixture into the prepared, pricked savory pie crust. Top with the second pie crust and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until the crust is flaky and lightly browned. Cut into wedges and serve.
Directions:
Tagged: capers, chicory, culinary school, escarole, externship, garlic, golden raisins, greens, Italy, Mami Camilla cooking school, olives, pate brisee, pine nuts, sauteed vegetables, savory shortbread, Sorrento
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