Escarole

Escarole is what curly endive would be if it wanted to be useful in a wider range of dishes. The leaves are broad and flat rather than frilled, the flavor is milder — especially in the pale inner heart — and the texture holds up when cooked, which makes it the green Italian cooks reach for when they want something that can go into soup or be braised with garlic and olive oil. Raw, the outer leaves can still carry a pronounced bitterness, but the inner leaves are mild enough for salad if you harvest at the right time.

That right time is almost always fall. Escarole can tolerate cool weather that would stunt or kill summer greens; it can handle a light frost and often tastes better after one. But it reacts to sustained heat by bolting fast and turning intensely bitter — more bitter than most gardeners are prepared for. A spring sowing may bolt before the head forms if a warm spell hits at the wrong stage. The more reliable strategy is to direct-sow in midsummer, about ten weeks before your first fall frost, and let the plants mature as the weather cools.

The broad leaves form a loose rosette rather than a tight head, and the outer leaves tend to be darker and more bitter than the creamy inner ones. Some gardeners blanch the center by tying the outer leaves together a week or two before harvest — it makes the inner leaves paler and milder, which matters more if you're planning to eat them raw. If you're cooking the whole plant, blanching is optional.

Consistent watering matters. An escarole plant that dries out and then gets drenched produces tougher, more bitter leaves than one that receives steady moisture. Mulching around the base helps keep the soil evenly moist and prevents soil from splashing up onto the lower leaves during heavy rain.

Harvest the whole plant by cutting at the base, or cut individual outer leaves as you need them and let the center keep growing. The plant tolerates repeated leaf harvest better than you might expect, though eventually it will put energy into a seed stalk. If that happens, cut the whole thing and start again with a new sowing — there's no salvaging a bolted chicory.

In the coldest climates, escarole can be one of the last greens you harvest in late fall. A row cover or cold frame extends the season further, and the leaves often sweeten noticeably after a hard frost. In milder regions, fall-sown plants may overwinter and provide fresh greens in late winter before they finally bolt in spring.