Escarole Pasta Recipe

My escarole pasta recipe gives new meaning to vegetable pasta dishes. From the salty flavor of the pancetta to the tender escarole and the creaminess of the brie. I came up with this escarole pasta for a friend of mine that I haven't seen for fifteen years. He explained how much he loved pasta but didn't want a red sauce and said he didn't like pesto sauce either. And he’s supposed to be Italian…

Actually, there are so many Italian pasta recipes that don't include tomato sauces or as much as I love it, pesto sauce.

So, I broke out the family vault of Italian cook books and put together an amazing meal of what was fresh, in season and most importantly, delicious.

When I went to the green market that weekend I found some fresh escarole. That's all I needed to see. I put the rest of the ingredients together in my head and I was off to begin my creation. Unique, colorful and amazing!

Escarole Pasta Recipe Ingredients:

1. 1 lb pasta al ceppo. Find it on my pasta shapes page.
2. 1 lb pancetta, thinly sliced into strips
3. 1 shallot, very thinly sliced and then chopped
4. 1 lb escarole
5. 1 lb brie or soft, rich flavored cheese with the rind removed and cut into 1 inch chunks.
6. 3 Small cloves of garlic, crushed
7. 1 thinly sliced shallot
8. Olive oil, enough to coat the pan
9. Lots of freshly ground pepper to taste. Be generous.
10. A few splashes of white wine

Escarole Pasta Recipe Instructions:

I sliced the pancetta into thin ribbons because of the pasta shape I used and because I didn't want them in little cubes. I thought it would look and taste better if they had more of a presence. I think it was a great choice! Especially for this escarole recipe with pasta and pancetta.

When all the ingredients were prepped then I started my boiling water so I could cook my pasta perfectly. When it reaches a full boil, add the pasta.

Then I began by coating a pan with Olive oil and cooking the pancetta until it was slight crisp. The juices and fat of the pancetta made a perfect base to add the shallots and garlic. Sauté until fragrant and tender. Splash with the white wine and turn up the heat to deglaze the pan.

Toss in all the escarole and reduce the heat to medium and sauté until wilted and tender. It will reduce to half the size.

Now is a good time to remove the pasta from the heat and drain. Immediately add the pasta to the sauté pan with the other ingredients. It's fine if the pasta isn't drained completely.

Toss in the chunks of brie right on top of the pasta.

Remove from the heat and stir together until all the ingredients are blended.

Before serving crack fresh pepper into the dish and stir.

It was a creamy, salty, ever so slightly bitter sweet dish. Totally appropriate for seeing a friend after so many years had past.

Vivere, Amare, Ridere e Mangiare Bene
Live, Love, Laugh and Eat Well!