Category: Chicory (Escarole, Endive, Radicchio, Sugarloaf)

You can use any kind of chicory here (radicchio, frisee, etc.). The robust leaves with a hint of bitterness pair well with the creamy, rich cheese.... Read more »

Just a lovely combination!... Read more »

Strong, slightly bitter radicchio (or any chicory), sweet roasted onions, parsley and crunchy hazelnuts make for a lively winter salad.... Read more »

The Nicoise Salad template, if you will, lends itself to year-round adaptations. I never miss the green beans and tomatoes when I make this, or a similar version, in the dead of winter. Quantities can be adapted to suit your needs and can be varied in all ways. You just want enough dressing for everything so scale that up if you’re using more vegetables.  ... Read more »

You can use a wide variety of salad greens here. I particularly like the heft and slight bitterness of chicories (escarole, frisee, radicchio, sugarloaf) or the brightness of arugula and sorrel. However, butter lettuce or oak leaf or even romaine would be good too. And by all means use hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds in place of the pistachios or use sunflower or pumpkin seeds and skip the sesame seeds. ... Read more »

The creamy, sweet beans balance the assertive radicchio. All you need is good olive oil, vinegar and salt.   In this version I used cassoulet (Tarbais) beans but you could use cannelini, navy or even corona beans or chickpeas for a slightly different but equally delicious result. And by all means add sage, rosemary or parsley or chopped salami or anything else you think would be complementary.  ... Read more »

  The richness of the egg pairs nicely with the assertive radicchio. You could dress this up with toasted nuts and/or apples or pears but I do love the simplicity of this, especially if you're serving other rich dishes.... Read more »

--loosely inspired by Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters   You can mix and match most any kind of leafy green including escarole--a great use for a big head of escarole in fact. I used beet and turnip greens, chard and collard greens in this batch. If you have any kind of wine open, use the suggested amount. If you don't use broth or water mixed with 2 teaspoons of vinegar. This dish is even better the next day. You can also mix these greens with pasta or cook them down a bit more with borlotti or white beans.... Read more »

I had squash to use up and just planned on roasting the squash with onion wedges and sage and rosemary. Dinner, however, called for a real salad with some zing and freshness (company was coming!). So I added the puny escarole in my garden (early February) and some radicchio from a friend's farm. A nice vinegary dressing pulled it together and a lovely, lovely combination was born. ... Read more »

This is a fresh, robust salad perfect for a weeknight supper or holiday meal. You can scale it up or down and change the ratio of vegetables any way you'd like. ... Read more »

This is my idea of a perfect cool weather bowl of soup. You could make it heartier if you served the soup over a slice of toasted bread rubbed with a garlic clove. You could add bacon or sausage or any kind of leftover meat but I like the simplicity of the white beans and escarole, just finished with good olive oil and black pepper. If you have cooked white beans on hand this comes together in 30 minutes, tops.  And this is even better the next day.   For this particular batch I didn't have cooked beans on hand and didn't have time to soak so I did the oven method where I brought the dry beans to a boil on the stove top (with a carrot, some celery, garlic and bay leaves) and then put it in the oven at 275 degrees for about 2 hours until tender and creamy. I removed the veggies and bay leaf and proceeded with the recipe.... Read more »

I had escarole, I had beets and feta and some red onions and needed to take a salad to a potluck. I remembered a friend's love of cumin with beets so I toasted cumin seeds and then roughly ground them in my mortar and voila, a tasty twist on a classic combination was born. You could use other salad greens in stead of the escarole and I'm sure it would be good too.... Read more »

  I can eat just this for dinner. It's tangy and fresh and rich from the egg in the dressing. The little bit of anchovy rounds things out without being overpowering. Good, fresh eggs will make it even better.   Variation In the winter I often use radicchio and other chicories. And I like to add a little rosemary and parsley as well. Serves 6... Read more »

Roast at 425 degrees a pan of fennel and torpedo (or other) onion wedges alongside some potatoes, all lightly coated in olive oil and sprinkled with salt. When tender and a bit caramelized, toss them in a mustardy dressing (whole grain mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper) and serve over some lightly dressed lettuce. chicory (escarole, sugarloaf, radicchio, frisee) of any kind is particularly good here Grill some sausages and you’ve got a substantial dinner. ... Read more »

This is a gorgeous salad with robust flavors. You can even skip the olives if you don't have them. Still delicious, as in the above version! Citrus fruit pair well with the slightly bitter chicories.  ... Read more »

--adapted from Food and Wine via smittenkitchen.com   This is creamy, delicious and robust.   You can certainly use risotto rice but the barley is a fun alternative. You can also vary the vegetables to suit your tastes and what you have on hand. You could add a diced sweet pepper to the onions at the beginning or use spinach instead of escarole, skip the beans and use diced winter squash. . . you get the idea.    Serves 4 ... Read more »

This is a very quick and simple dish. It's a lighter version of this dish, that includes a bit of cream.  This one-pot dish is begging for adaptations and substitutions so use spinach or mustard greens instead of the escarole, or even radicchio. Add bacon or sausage or leftover chicken. The sweet squash is nicely balanced by greens with robust flavor like mustard greens or anything in the chicory family. Cooking times and amount of liquid needed will vary a bit based on the type of pasta you use so watch as you go and adjust as needed. This is not a dish where the pasta needs to be perfectly al dente, which I think is just fine. ... Read more »

--adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters  ... Read more »

  The chicory sweetens and intensifies when seared, grilled or broiled and is a delicious foil for the juices and tender meat of a roast chicken. You may well have a tried-and-true chicken roasting technique, however, if you don’t or just want a new, good, foolproof one, here you go. The butter and the 20-min “rest” in the oven with the door cracked are probably the two things that make this chicken memorable.... Read more »

Chicories, in culinary terms, include all kinds of endive, escarole, frisée, puntarelle and radicchio. Italians and Spanish prize these greens for their fresh, robust and bitter flavor. They thrive in cooler temperatures and are coveted winter greens in the Pacific Northwest. Rich ingredients like blue cheese and toasted nuts or anchovies and garlic and lemon mellow out their (pleasant) bitterness.   They are delicious raw but also stand up well to cooking, either grilled or wilted in a soup, risotto or pasta dish or simply wilted and dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and maybe a bit of anchovy. They are also delicious with beans. Chicories keep quite well in plastic in the refrigerator for two weeks or more.... Read more »