Escarole is one of my favorite vegetables and stuffed escarole, or as we say in Naples, scarola ‘mbuttunata, is truly perfect for a diet. Flavorful and low in calories, it is also great to serve during the holiday season.
If you omit the anchovies it becomes a dish suitable for vegetarians. And it’s so easy to prepare, with ingredients that are easy to find and very tasty.
I serve it as a main course but you can also propose it as a hearty side dish — perhaps a bit generous, but on the holiday table we tend to indulge a little. And this kind of indulgence can be done without too much guilt. Let’s get started.
More light dishes for Christmas are here:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 2People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring, Christmas
Ingredients
If you want a vegan dish simply replace the pecorino and the anchovies with 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast and increase the amount of olives and capers.
- 2 bunches escarole
- 2 tbsp capers (in salt) (soaked and drained)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 oz pecorino romano (grated)
- 15 Gaeta olives
- 1 tbsp pine nuts (about 1 tbsp (approximately 10 g))
- 1 tbsp raisins (about 1 tbsp (approximately 15 g))
- 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 fillets anchovies in oil (about 20 g (use if desired))
- Points per serving (1 whole escarole) = 7 WW points
Tools
- Kitchen twine
Steps
First, prepare all the filling ingredients: soak the capers and the raisins in water for about ten minutes, then squeeze them well. Chop the olives, the capers, 2 cloves of garlic and the anchovies (if using).
Mix everything with the raisins, pine nuts, pecorino and 2 tsp of olive oil. Add very little salt or avoid it completely: the capers and anchovies already provide plenty of flavor.
After removing the outer and damaged leaves, wash the escaroles carefully making sure the leaves do not come apart and let them drain.
Gently open the leaves and place the filling in the center of each escarole.
Close the leaves again and tie the bunches tightly with kitchen twine as if making a large roll.
In a skillet put the remaining 2 tsp of olive oil and one clove of garlic, whole or in pieces. When it starts to sizzle, add the escaroles to the pan, cover and cook over low heat, turning gently occasionally.
About half an hour should be sufficient for cooking but it will also depend on the size of the escaroles. Once the water released by the escaroles has almost completely evaporated and the escaroles are slightly browned, the cooking is finished.
And here is our stuffed escarole or ‘mbuttunata. You can serve the escaroles whole on a serving plate with or without the twine — I like to leave it on.
This is how the stuffed escarole looks inside: moist and full of strong flavors that pair well with the lightness of the escarole.
If you’ve never tried it before, give it a try — you won’t regret it. And don’t forget to leave a comment at the end of the recipe or on Facebook.
Enjoy your meal and happy holidays to everyone!
by Giovanna Buono
