I’ve cooked with escarole before and even grown it in my garden, so we are big fans of this slightly bitter salad green that transforms into a delicate cooked vegetable. Trufflehead’s Escarole with Garlic and Hot Pepper is easy and makes a satisfying vegetable side
dish.

I had a little trouble finding escarole in February (two different grocery managers told me it was out of season), but when I finally did
locate it at the supermarket I grabbed two heads, so I could make this delicious dish twice.

If you’ve never cooked with escarole before, there’s a great little Trufflehead demo on how to clean it. Escarole hides a lot of mud in
its base so you want to make sure you rinse it several times in your sink or in a big soup pot like I do. Nothing’s worse than chomping
down on some grit in your finished dish.

You can also make this recipe into a heartier main dish, Greens and Beans, by adding a can of drained cannelli beans (white kidney beans) and garnishing with grated Parmesan. Italian cooks also traditionally fry up some chopped pancetta (a cured bacon-like product that you can find in many delis) along with the garlic for their Greens and Beans.

Find more by Rachel at http://wheat-free-meat-free.blogspot.com/.