Name: Easy Escarole Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1/2 head Escarole ((~6oz or 4-5 cups; washed dried and hand-torn into pieces)); 2 shallots ((peeled and cut ino thinly sliced, can sub with 1/2 cup red onions)); 2 tbsp walnut halves ((raw or dry roasted)); 1 tbsp raisins; 2 pinches freshly ground black pepper (or to taste); 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar ((can sub with equal amount fresh lemon juice)); 1.5 tsp Dijon mustard; 1/2 tsp maple syrup; 1 clove garlic ((finely minced))

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This mineral-rich easy escarole salad perfectly pairs with walnuts and raisins and comes together in less than 15 minutes.

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A note on escarole

I find escarole in my farm share around this time of the year. Escarole is quite popular in Italian cuisines: used both in raw and cooked variations. So you can create yummy salads as well as cook it in different variations such as soups or veggie saute.

Although escarole often mimics the look of the head of a lettuce, it belongs to the chicory family with other members being Belgian endive, curly endive, and radicchio.

Escarole is firmer in texture compared to lettuce and is bitter in notes, much like its siblings: endive and radicchio.

Expert Tip: To make the salad, use the leaves from the center of the escarole head. They tend of be a tad less bitter and softer than the leaves in the outer ring.

Escarole, much like other greens, is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamin A and C. It is great for bone health as it is rich in calcium as well as potassium- a mineral sorely lacking in our diets.

Ingredients

This salad boasts of an ingredient list of less than 10.

Mineral-rich Escarole forms the base of the salad. Best to use the middle part of the escarole head for less bitter taste.
Shallots offer the right amount of spiciness. Totally fine to replace shallots with equal amount red onion. Just remember red onion tends to be slightly more spicy. If you want, you can marinate the red onions in the dressing for an hour before using. This takes the extra spiciness out of the red onions.
Walnuts add the healthy fat and raisins offer some sweetness to balance the bitterness the greens. Be sure not to go overboard in using raisins to turn the salad into dessert. Freshly ground black pepper adds some spiciness.
Balsamic vinegar forms the base for the dressing and can be replaced by equal amount fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Dijon mustard and garlic add the right amount of zing to the dressing. I have not used salt, but if desired you can add a pinch of salt to the dressing.

Tips for making the best escarole salad

Before making this easy escarole salad, it's super important to wash the escarole leaves properly. As with other greens, the base of the escarole head often has dirt, which can find its way to the salad and your mouth if the leaves are not washed properly. I find salad spinner an important part of the kitchen and always use a salad spinner to wash any greens.

Make the salad dressing first for the garlic and mustard to mingle with the balsamic vinegar.

Mealprep tips and variations

It's best to make this salad fresh. Just make sure that you have all the ingredients to make this easy escarole salad in your pantry and refrigerator. If you want, you can wash and dry the leaves and store in an airtight bag. I would highly recommend Bluapple VeggieZips produce bags to store your produce.

Variations

If avoiding sugar, omit the raisins from the salad and maple syrup from the dressing.Add roasted beats or grated carrots for the sweetness instead of raisins.
To make this salad a meal, add 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas or white beans to the salad.