Zachs Escarole Salad Recipes

ESCAROLE SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk together the honey, whole grain mustard, lemon juice, and then stream in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss with the escarole.

ESCAROLE SALAD

Steps:

• Make lemon-basil oil:
• Mix 1/3 cup olive oil, a strip of lemon zest, 8 torn basil leaves and a pinch of salt; infuse 2 hours. Soak 1/2 thinly sliced red onion in water for 10 minutes to mellow the bite. When ready to serve, toss 1 head chopped escarole, the onion slices, 2 sliced celery stalks, 3/4 cup chopped green olives and a few tablespoons olive juice, 2 segmented lemons and 1/4 cup each toasted pine nuts and golden raisins in a serving bowl. Discard the zest from the infused oil, drizzle over the salad and season with salt and pepper.

ESCAROLE SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 1 cup walnuts on rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature and coarsely chop.
• Finely chop remaining walnuts and place in small saucepan with olive oil and garlic. Bring to bare simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and strain oil into medium bowl. Whisk vinegar, salt, and black pepper into oil.
• Spread escarole over a large platter. Sprinkle coarsely chopped walnuts and red onion over escarole and drizzle dressing over salad. Shave Pecorino Romano on top and serve immediately.

ZACH'S ESCAROLE SALAD

Steps:

• Soak the escarole in a bowl of cool water for 10 minutes to crisp it. Drain and spin dry.
• Combine the sunchokes, almonds, and cheese in a large bowl, tossing to mix. Add the escarole, tossing gently. Drizzle with half the vinaigrette, tossing to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and serve with the remaining vinaigrette on the side.

ESCAROLE SALAD WITH TURKEY CRACKLING

Steps:

• To remove the skin from the turkey, cut along the backbone of the turkey with a sharp knife. Begin pulling and cutting on each side of the bone to help separate the skin from the carcass. Keep pulling and cutting the skin to separate it completely from the bird. Do not worry if you make holes in the skin or if it is cut into smaller pieces.
• For the crackling, spread the turkey skin, stretching it thinly in one piece or several pieces on a large cookie sheet in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and place in a preheated 350-to-400-degree oven. Bake for about 30 minutes, until crisp and brown all over. The skin will have shrunk considerably. If the skin is very thick, bake longer, until very crisp. Cool slightly and lift from the surrounding fat. Break into half-inch pieces and set aside. The skin from one turkey should yield one to one-and-a-half cups of crackling. Reserve the fat in the pan for sauteeing vegetables or for adding to the vinaigrette above.
• For the salad, trim off the outside escarole leaves that are very green or damaged and cut the remaining leaves into two-inch pieces. Wash thoroughly, lifting the leaves up out of the water. Dry well in a salad spinner. You should have approximately 9 to 10 cups of washed escarole.
• For the dressing, combine the mustard, garlic, vinegar, pepper and salt together with a spoon. Add the oil and turkey fat slowly and mix well. (The dressing should be slightly separated, not homogenized, so the salad is shiny when tossed with the dressing.
• At serving time, add the dressing to the greens and toss well. Sprinkle with the crackling and serve immediately.

ESCAROLE SALAD WITH WHITE BEANS AND LIME VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Toss salad mix, cannellini, and olives in large bowl. Pour dressing over; toss. Divide salad among plates. Sprinkle with pepitas or pine nuts and serve.

SICILIAN ESCAROLE SALAD

Steps:

• Add Wine vinegar to bottom of bowl.
• Peel garlic, and using a garlic press, add garlic to vinegar and allow to sit at least 10 minutes. (Alternatively, if you don't have a garlic press, mince garlic finely and then sprinkle with salt and rub the side of your knife across it to crush garlic to a fine paste, then add to vinegar as above.) Stir pepper, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes into vinegar. Add chopped onion, stir to mix together.
• Wash and thoroughly dry the escarole and separate the leaves, tearing them into 1-2 inch pieces. Add to vinegar and garlic, chop the cucumber into one inch pieces and season with black pepper.
• If using the optional anchovies, break them into sections and add to the olive oil. Otherwise, pour olive oil over salad, sprinkle with salt and mix gently but thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Escarole salad can be easily varied to suit the ingredients that you have available, or what's seasonal at the market. But remember, it's best kept rather simple, with not too many ingredients.
• This can be topped with Parmesan croutons or served with [bruschetta]. When in season, optionally add fresh ripe tomato slices and use chopped fresh basil and oregano. Another nice addition is roasted red peppers. Or add 2" X 1/2" slices of salami, mortadella or a sharp Italian cheese such as Asiago or Provolone. Or add a can of cannelloni beans (drained), or a can of Italian Tonno (tuna) packed in olive oil.
• Note: When using anchovies, adjust salt, as anchovies can be very salty depending on how they're packed.

ESCAROLE SALAD WITH BUTTERMILK-HERB DRESSING

Steps:

• Place escarole, parsley, apple, cheese, walnuts in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add dressing and toss until well combined. Serve immediately.

ESCAROLE SALAD WITH MUSTARD DRESSING

Steps:

• Remove the outside leaves of the escarole and cut the remainder into 2-inch pieces. Wash and dry thoroughly. You should have about 4 cups washed greens.
• Blend the mustard, garlic, vinegar and olive oil in a bowl or jar.
• Just before serving, combine the greens, the dressing and the reserved drippings and toss to mix.