I am a far cry from being bashful when shopping for food. If it’s an unfamiliar food from the earth, then without hesitation, it will be lifted and placed into my shopping cart. It’ just that simple. For me, it’s a no brainer: Where food is concerned, I am extremely adventurous, and always willing to try something new and transform it’s authenticity into a d’luscious meal.

As much as my grandma cooked some of the baddest dishes, with the simplest ingredients, escarole just wasn’t  one of those lettuces that I was accustomed to. In the past and out of curiosity, I have purchased escarole to add to my salads, but because of its slightly bitter taste, I wasn’t inclined to use it as often as I should …………………………………until I made this awesome Chicken Escarole Soup! OMG….OMG…..OMG!!!!!!!!!!

Escarole is a leafy vegetable with a slightly bitter taste and I may have to get used to eating it raw, but in the meantime I will be sauteing this nutritious green vegetable, adding it to stews and soups and including it in warm salads. I might just try it raw with a nice vinaigrette for a change and see how much I would enjoy it.

All the ingredients in this amazing chicken escarole soup complimented each other beautifully; the butternut squash, sweet yams, pumpkin, turnips, yukon gold potatoes, and carrots added that sweet yet subtle flavor. I had to spice it up with a nice scotch bonnet pepper, and I mean one whole scotch bonnet that I made my point of duty to burst, as in to get some of the seed disbursed into the soup. Scotch bonnet peppers are hot and add depths of flavor to my meals. My family is used to the heat by now. With all the scotch bonnet  that is consumed in this house, no one should have stomach cancer.

I filled the kitchen sink with water and 1 cup of vinegar and allowed the escarole to bathe/washed in it for about 15 minutes. I cut off the bottom, and washed the insides of the leaves. There’s a lot of dirt in there. Then I gave it another rinse while it  patiently awaited to be added to the pot. I didn’t even bother to chop it up.

Well, I decided to add the escarole during the final stages of the chicken soup. I didn’t receive these special instructions from anyone, but for a diva like me, who cooks more than the average person; it becomes common sense. I mean, it is what I do when I prepare soups with kale, cabbage, or other any other types of cruciferous vegetables. I needed it to wilt, just a little, while maintaining a little bit of its crunch. For a minute, I thought that I would use only half of the escarole because of the size of the escarole. It was indeed a huge head of lettuce; but when I pulled a piece of the leafy vegetable and tasted the love of all things whole and green, I almost has an orgasm.

So, I gently and carefully added the other half into the chicken soup. You have to take time with love ya know…and food is love. Yeah….give the pot and the ingredients lots of love while cooking and it will love you back. It’s kinda the same technique that farmers use when they talk to their plants. They reap beautiful bounties from mother earth when they talk to their plants….or so they say.

Today, I challenge you to add more escarole and other green leafy vegetables into your diet. Get creative and your palate  will definitely thank you. Escarole is now one of my favorites and will be used regularly in my dishes. I just can’t believe this vegetable is so awesome and I’m just getting on the bandwagon. Well…better late than never!