A simple pile of sauteed greens, accented with lots of garlic and a touch of red pepper flakes, is one of my favorite any-night-of-the-week sides. Whether it’s spinach, kale, Swiss chard, or escarole, the preparation is quick to pull off and goes with just about any main dish. The latter — escarole — is perhaps the most misunderstood, but is a leafy green that I think deserves way more attention than it gets. When cooked, it’s meltingly tender and almost juicy, with a pleasant bitterness that counters the garlicky oil it’s sauteed in.
How Do You Take the Bitterness out of Escarole?
While escarole isn’t as inherently bitter as broccoli rabe or radicchio, it does have a mild bitterness to it. It’s easy to tame, however, by cooking it in garlicky olive oil and offsetting the bitter with a splash of tangy lemon juice at the end….