Definition of "escarole"

Endive, or Chicory—This, for salad, takes the same place in winter that lettuce occupies in summer and when well grown is equally valuable. There are two very distinct varieties; [...] The other sort is the "Escarole" of the French, and is sweet in flavor, with a wider and flatter leaf, which comes earlier in the season but does not usually form so close a head, although it is preferable in flavor. [...] Sow twice, early in July and the first week in August. The broad leaf, (which is the Escarole,) for the first crop, and some White Curled for the second crop.A use of the French word in an English text.]

, volume I, number VII (Third Series), Albany, N.Y.: Published by Luther Tucker, at the office of The Country Gentleman […]; from the steam press of C. Van Benthuysen, page 218, column 1

Paul's greatest pleasure was the cultivation of various salads. He owned four large beds in which he grew romaines, lettuces, escaroles, and almost all the known species of these edible leaves.

1903, Guy de Maupassant, “The Development of Paul”, in Une vie: Or The History of a Heart: A Novel (The Life Work of Henri René Guy de Maupassant; VI), Akron, Oh.: Saint Dunstan Society, page 205

Escarole is a form of endive with the Latin name Cichorium endivia var. latifolia. There are several forms of a variety called var. crispum with wide heads and crisped leaves. One of these called "fringed" has a head so deep it is almost self-blanching. These escaroles are delicious as salads and also when chopped and cooked.

1943, Bulletin of the Garden Club of America, series 8, [Lake Forest, Ill.]: Garden Club of America, page 16

Like chicory and Belgian endive, escarole’s bitterness is its attraction. Look for broad heads of escarole with dark green leaves.

2001, “Vegetables”, in Susan Westmoreland, editor, The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, New York, N.Y.: Hearst Books, page 432, column 2

This recipe called scarola imbottita is unique in that the individual leaves of the vegetable are not used for stuffing, as you might expect, but the whole head of escarole is flattened and stuffed, then closed up, tied up, and cooked whole. [...] Remember that the kind of escarole used here is also called curly endive.

2003, Clifford A. Wright, “Stuffed Escarole with Ground Beef, Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Olives as Made in Sicily”, in Little Foods of the Mediterranean: 500 Fabulous Recipes for Antipasti, Tapas, Hors d’Oeuvre, Meze, and More, Boston, Mass.: The Harvard Common Press, page 229, column 2

Escarole walnut salad [...] If you've never worked with escarole, give this versatile green a go. When I was growing up, I was used to eating it chopped up in a soup, quickly wilted with lemon juice, or tossed into a salad. Though you can find escarole in most grocery stores, many people don't take advantage of it, perhaps because of its slight bitterness (which dissipates when cooked).

2016 August, Lucinda Scala Quinn, “Killer Salads”, in Mad Hungry Family: 120 Essential Recipes to Feed the Whole Crew, New York, N.Y.: Artisan, Workman Publishing Company, page 193