(photo: final product with a bit of extra provola and olive oil)
When it comes to living life, I'm a sucker for both luxurious and practical things. I'm equally comfortable driving a Honda or a Mercedes-Benz or living amongst nose-in-the-air snobs or dyed in the wool blue collar types. I lean towards the practical and modest side of living, but who doesn't like nice, luxurious, things on occasion.
When it comes to living life, I'm a sucker for both luxurious and practical things. I'm equally comfortable driving a Honda or a Mercedes-Benz or living amongst nose-in-the-air snobs or dyed in the wool blue collar types. I lean towards the practical and modest side of living, but who doesn't like nice, luxurious, things on occasion.
When selecting vegetables at the market I'm drawn to fancy Sicilian eggplant or in season fava beans (think of these vegetables as the equivalent of fancy German vehicles), but when it comes to the ultimate practical (or working class) vegetable it's Escarole that gets me excited (think of Escarole as the Honda Accord of greens).
Escarole is a workhorse vegetable and is incredibly easy to prepare and almost impossible to overcook. Escarole goes well with beans and a hearty broth or as an alternative to sautéed spinach. Recently, I've been experimenting with escarole and pasta combinations (given, you guessed it, the Scordo Pasta Challenge). In turn, I've come up my definitive escarole and pasta dish: Sauteed escarole with garlic, onion, potato, red pepper flakes, and imported Italian provola.
Here are the ingredients:
- ¾ of a head of escarole (small to medium size head)
- 4 large cloves of garlic
- ¼ of a potato, thinly sliced.
- ½ a large onion (red or white)
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- ½ cup of pasta water
- ¼ pound of linguine
- 3-4 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup of grated imported provola (by the best you can afford and grate it like you would for a pizza <shredded>)
(photo: combined ingredients minus the pasta and provola)
(photo: shredded imported provola, which is a great melting cheese)
In a sauté pan, add 2 teaspoon of olive oil and heat. Next, add your sliced garlic, onion, and potato. Sautee the three ingredient for 5-10 minutes or until soft (add salt and pepper). Next, add the red pepper flakes and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add you're your bite size pieces of escarole and sauté until the liquid begins to leave the escarole (for about 5 minutes). Season the mixture again with salt and pepper. When your pasta is cooked drain it and save some of the pasta water.
(photo: always add pasta to the pot containing the sauce)
Add the pasta to your sauté pan with the escarole mixture. Mix well and add in a bit of the pasta water (just enough to loosen up the sauce). Finally, add a bit of shredded Provola and mix well. Plate the pasta and add a bit more provola and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy during lunch with a glass of Ciro Rosato from Calabria.
Add the pasta to your sauté pan with the escarole mixture. Mix well and add in a bit of the pasta water (just enough to loosen up the sauce). Finally, add a bit of shredded Provola and mix well. Plate the pasta and add a bit more provola and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy during lunch with a glass of Ciro Rosato from Calabria.
(photo: end product ready to eat)
Italian
