Escarole
Cichorium endivia · Leafy green
Top 10 pairings
Escarole (Cichorium endivia var. latifolia), also called broad-leaved endive, Batavian endive or scarole, is a leafy chicory grown as a loose, open head of wide, slightly wavy, dull-green outer leaves that pale to a tender, creamy-white or yellow heart. Crisp and only mildly bitter, it is eaten raw in salads but is most prized cooked — wilted, braised or sautéed, and famously stewed with beans in southern Italian cooking — where heat softens the leaf and mellows its chicory bitterness into a sweet, silky green.
Picking a good onedrag
Squeaky, pale-hearted, just cutYellow, limp, brown at the butt
Shop crispEveryday bestThe all-rounder: heart in salad, outer leaves wilted with garlic.
Cut baseRim tanned, the cut face dried over
The midribSnaps, but the break face is only damp
Leaf and heartGreen, outer edges dulling, heart still firm
Smell at the baseGreen and neutral, almost nothing
What you get from one
86%
Edible part
513 g · outer leaves and core out
597 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 5× longer than the counter.
95-100%
Humidity
Vented, never sealed
Airflow