I got a big ass escarole in my CSA box last Friday, so I looked in my trusty copy of Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone to see how best to tackle it. Yes, I’ll admit that when I was a misguided youth I went through a vegetarian phase but now I’m reformed.
Her recipe for “Braised Escarole with Onion” seemed simple enough so I cooked some up, subbing in ghee instead of olive oil.
Time to make Braised Escarole with Onions!
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
- 1 large head of escarole (~2 pounds in all)
- 3 tablespoons of ghee or olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- salt and freshly milled pepper
- vinegar of your choice
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
The first thing you need to is separate the escarole leaves and wash well (there can be lots of mud and dirt at the base of the inner leaves). Drain and coarsely chop.
Heat the ghee in a wide skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions until soft.
Throw in the garlic and stir around for ~ 30 seconds and then dump in the escarole (damp greens are good). Lightly salt the greens and onions and cook covered until the greens are wilted and tender (~12-15 minutes). Season with salt and pepper and add a splash of your favorite vinegar.
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PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Braised Escarole with Onions

Ingredients
- 1 large head of escarole ~2 pounds
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- vinegar of your choice
Instructions
- The first thing you need to do is separate the escarole leaves and wash it well (there can be lots of mud and dirt at the base of the inner leaves). Drain and coarsely chop.
- Heat the ghee in a wide skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions until soft. Throw in the garlic and stir around for ~ 30 seconds and then dump in the escarole (damp greens are good).
- Lightly salt the greens and onions and cook covered until the greens are wilted and tender (~12-15 minutes). Season with salt and pepper and add a splash of your favorite vinegar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.