Here is a dish that brings together all the
mutlicultural flavors that make up the area of Italy known as Naples.  This city was ruled by the Spanish, the Greeks,
the Italians, and each group left its' mark on the city's architecture, style, and cuisine.  A land of garden treasures,
with the gifts from the sea and the mountains, help make this Italian regional food so full of bold and striking
flavors.  One of the most popular vegetables in the area is Escarole..or as it was called in my home, "Scharole'".
It was eaten as a side dish, chopped with garlic and oil, or with anchovies, breadcrumbs, hot pepper, raisin and
pignoli. It found its' way in many soups, notably the Minestra Maritata( Grandma's meatball soup), or with beans
in the famously popular 'Scarole and beans...This Baroque filled plate stars all of Naples' finest ingredients...
pecorino romano, garlic, raisin, pignoli, anchovy, San Marzano tomatoes, good olive oil, Gaeta Olives, ground
meat and soaked Italian bread..all served over Naples popular Past'asciutta...or dried pasta...in this case,
Ziti.
I started this blog last night and actually fell asleep at the keyboard....it's Saturday afternoon now and after getting
some work done, enjoyed the pool with the family, and now, I'm refreshed to blog again. Although I did work on
a "quick"lunch recipe as well, a ground veal pattie which is called a polpettine in Italian.  A flattened meatball
which will be the guts of another future blog...the experiment was a success...

Start this escarole dish with a cleaned head of 'scarole.  To accomplish this, you must open the head up without
breaking any leaves off.  In a large bowl 1/2 filled with cold water submerge the escarole head stem side up.
For some reason, more so than any other fresh vegetable I have cooked with, escarole captures an ungodly
amount of grit, sand, dirt deep within its' green and white crevasses.  You must let this sit for 15 minutes, then
in a colander, rinse the head under running cold water. Empty the bowl, you will see the sand and dirt in it. Fill
it back up 1/2 way, and repeat this process 3 times.  Maybe 4.  Give it a final rinse. Then, in a large pot of salted
water, bring it up to a boil then place the escarole in it stem side up and bring to a low boil.  Cook this for a good
20-25 minutes. 
  In this picture you can see what the first rinse looks
like..the water is dirty and you can see the sand and grit in the center.  A must to do...or your dish will have a gritty unwanted
crunch.
 Now let this cool in the colander for about 15 minutes.  While
it is cooling, let's make the filling...a celebration of Naples' best ingredients.  The choice of the ground meat is up to
you...veal is my preference, then pork, lastly beef.  This dish is called in the Napoletana dialect, I MUCILLI, meaning
little kittens...but we call it Stuffed "Scharole...".   For 1 head of escarole which makes about 25 bundles, use 1/2 lb.
ground meat, 1/3 cup grated Locatelli Romano, 1/8 cup raisins, 1/8 cup pignoli, 1 finely minced garlic clove, 1 tsp.
red wine, 2 slices of bread, soaked in water and squeezed dry, 2 eggs, beaten, 1/8 cup chopped pitted Gaeta olives,
1 anchovy filet, 1/8 fresh chopped parsley, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, and 1/2 tsp. chili pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp. salt.
Mix this all together well and let it sit for 10 minutes.


Why are we letting this sit?  Flavor melding, it give a chance for the ingredients to give up some of their essential oils and
makes for a tastier end result.   
Now take the cooled head of escarole and hold it by the stem, gently, with a knife, cut around the core to release the leaves.
lay them out on a flat clean surface and add about 1 tbs. of the mixture to the stem end of the leaf, then roll them up tucking
the sides in on the way.  Lay them into a large oiled deep pan.  Continue till you are done.






When you are done rolling the "mucilli" bundles, pour some olive oil over them, then 1/2 cup of white wine or
stock, then 1 can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes.  A little salt, pepper, 1 clove of garlic, a sprinkle of oregano,
and a shake to the pan.  Cover and bring it to a boil , then lower to a simmer and let cook for 40 minutes on a low
flame.  This will further soften the escarole and let all the flavors get happy. 
  The mucilli will soak up some of the sauce,
not an overly liquid dish when it's finished, great concentrated flavors...important tip here...DON'T SERVE IT IMMEDIATELY.
Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Serve 3 of the mucilli over a pasta portion, ziti my preference...that has been tossed with
pecorino, olive oil and black pepper...pour some of the tomato over it as well...

   This dish is very similiar to the Stuffed Cabbage
of Eastern Europe, the Dolmades of the Balkans, the Dolmas of the Middle East...Enjoy this during the week, or on
the weekend, but most of all, enjoy it while escarole is plentiful and in season.