Description
It’s green and leafy, but is it like kale? Like spinach? Like lettuce? Well, it looks kind of like all of those things. Escarole is leafier than kale, and is usually sold in bunches that look a lot like a head of lettuce, with short, wide, wavy-edged leaves. The color and texture of the leaves varies—those on the outside are darker-green and a bit tougher, while the interior leaves are pale-yellow and more tender.
Flavor-wise, escarole is part of the chicory family, which means it’s related to stuff like endive, radicchio, and other bitter greens. And yes, as the family name “bitter greens” suggests, escarole is a tad bitter. There’s a sharpness that comes with escarole's wide leaves, not quite as much as radicchio, but definitely more than a piece of romaine.