Escarole

Escarole is a broad-leaf chicory with pale cores and ruffled green outer leaves. Its leaves are sturdy with a mild bitterness that softens when sauteed or braised, and the crunchy ribs hold up in soups and salads; cooks use inner leaves raw and outer leaves for cooking. Sold as whole heads or loose leaves.\n\nCultivated in the Mediterranean since antiquity, escarole spread across Europe and later to North America through Italian and French cuisines. It features in Italian wedding soup and rustic bean stews, and growers harvest cool-season heads from open fields and, in some regions, protected culture.