Mediterranean Rice-Stuffed Escarole

Got a beautiful head of escarole from my farm share last week. I layered it into this recipe this based on advice from previous cooks. I would tear the escarole into smaller pieces before baking, but otherwise a rave review. I could eat this every week.

• cvholland

• Houston

• 2/5/2019

The rice was flavorful and I would make this again - but also with tweaks. I think escarole is too tender to bake for this long - it just comes out paper thin and no substance. If you kept escarole I think it should be cooked separately - maybe a quick pan broil rather than with the rice. Otherwise, I'd use a hardier green (kale? cabbage?).

• bltsa

• bremerton, wa

• 11/11/2017

This probably doesn't need another rave review, but it was so good I will add it anyway. I took the advice of an earlier reviewer and made this up with a layer of greens, top and bottom around the rice stuffing. Glorious, and so easy. I used a mixture of curly endive and collards, because that is what we had. Delish.

• euriaut

• Kansas City, MO

• 12/5/2013

This is wonderful. Such a great and unexpected combo of flavors - savory, briny, sweet. Definitely read the reviews, though! There is way too much filling. I followed others' suggestions and used 1 1/2 heads of escarole, and only 1/2 cup rice. Oh, and two fresh roasted red peppers instead of jarred. And dried currents as my local store wasn't carrying golden raisins. All in all, a major upgrade on my grandmother's stuffed cabbage recipe (sorry, Nana!).

• katewawa

• San Francisco, CA

• 3/18/2013

Once again I am grateful for the wisdom of the epicurious community! This recipe is ingenious and it's fun to make, but it requires the tweaks some of the reviewers have suggested. The addition of 1/4 teaspoon (or a tad more) of red pepper flakes to the filling is a good idea. Two large heads of escarole are required, not one, and the leaves should only be boiled for two to three minutes. I made half the recipe with escarole and half with Swiss chard, and while the chard was much easier to work with, the escarole offered a more delicate flavor, more enjoyable texture, and looked prettier in the dish. The chard was tasty but slightly overwhelmed the flavors of the filling. This recipe is a keeper and I'll be making it often - it's a one- dish meal that doesn't require a side dish (except maybe a salad).

• sittaubria

• 3/18/2012

可爱。我一直做直到th小包e rice was gone. But I also think that perhaps an Italian version of escarole might be more substantial -- like their zucchini which is less wattery than ours. The escarole leaves are difficult so I used some and then switched to Swiss Chard. Tastes Great!!!

• Loey

• 2/10/2012

This was easy but took a while to make. It has interesting favors, but I'd add some heat next time. Good for a different taste for your palate. I layered it since my escarole was so wilted.

• taebatha

• 2/6/2012

Excellent! Took the advice of the previous reviewer and didn't even bother attempting the rolling, which just seemed like it would be a mess. Used about half the red pepper and capers and added some aleppo pepper flakes to the mix. Yummy~

• LettuceIsLovely

• Fairfax, VA

• 2/2/2012

Terrific and unique flavors. I had already cored and torn my escarole so couldn't roll it as described. We layered it in the baking dish, half on the bottom, then all the rice, then the rest of the escarole. Turned into more of a veggie lasagna. Worked out fine though and probably easier than rolling.

• skdewitt

• Bethel, CT

• 10/26/2011

这是一个很棒的食谱,特别是贝吉塔rian entree, though I tweaked it a bit. I used brown rice (parboiled 25-30 mins) rather than Arborio, used about 5 ounces of roasted red peppers, added some cannellini beans for body and protein, and wrapped the mixture in blanched collard green leaves (per another reviewer's suggestion). Delish -- will definitely make again!

• jesskling

• Boston, MA

• 5/25/2011

Yum! This was so good! I had a hard time with the escarole--it was difficult to roll up the rice, and there was a whole lot of rice left over. Next time I'm either going to use two heads of escarole or some chard instead. I don't like roasted red peppers, so I used 1 sauteed red pepper instead, and I added about 5 chopped sun-dried tomatoes. I also used romano instead of parm because that's what I had. It was totally delicious and reheated well the next day too.

• Anonymous

• New York, NY

• 5/18/2011

Delicious and attractive dish. The escarole wasn't enough to handle all the rice mixture, so I grabbed some large collard leaves, par-boiled them, and used four of them as well. In all, I made eight bundles, four of escarole, and four of collard. In comparison, we thought the collard was the more successful wrapper, so next time we'll do all collards and no escarole! Collard leaves were much easier to wrap the rice mixture in. Very delicious and appealing dish -- great for guests.

• Anonymous

• San Francisco

• 11/24/2010

Wish I would have reviewed the comments before making this dish. I would have cooked the escarole for less time and also cooked less stuffing. I packed the bottom of the baking dish with the extra stuffing, and lay the rolls on top of it. This would make a dynamite stuffing for chicken or pepper. We loved the pine nuts and the capers. Tasty and even filling, and great for a vegetarian meal.

• judyinboston

• New England

• 4/24/2010

Unique concept - the bright green rolls studded with toasty, melted bits of Parmegiano- Reggiano make a dramatic presentation. The flavors are good, but in my humble opinion, could be kicked up a notch. I'm thinking about how to do that because I would definitely like to make this again. Other recipes I have seen include chopped anchovies and/or black olives. I did not find the roasted red peppers to be too dominant, but make sure that you use a good quality Italian-style and rinse them as directed. After eyeing the volume of the completed stuffing, I realized that even though I had a 1 1/4 lb. head of escarole, it was not going to work due to its shape. I continued the recipe the next day after finding a head of escarole with the longest, widest leaves possible. As previous reviewers suggested, blanch the escarole for only 3 minutes - any more and it will become mushy. To make assembly easier, keep the base attached to the leaves until AFTER you have spread and overlapped them as much as possible; then trim the base and proceed.

• n1cf2

• 1/20/2010

This is a delicious dish, and not too much trouble to make. For the escarole, try this: blanch for only 3.5 minutes, then carefully separate the leaves and lay out, overlapping, to form a square shape. Spreading the leaves out really helps when stuffing. I slipped a chef's knife under the stem end to help with the first twist of rolling. With a standard sized head of escarole, I had enough rice left over for another 2-3 rolls, and just served it along side (it finished cooking in the same pan as the 4 rolls I made with the recipe). Although it says that it serves 4, I think that it serves 2 as a vegetarian main dish, and would only serve 4 as a side dish.

• ehammerl

• Lincoln, NE

• 12/30/2009