Recipe: Utica Italian Greens

Erica’s Utica Italian Greens

My guess is that most of you probably don’t know what “Utica Greens” are. The fact is, up until I went to college in Utica, I didn’t know what they were either! This regional appetizer is a specialty that you’ll only find in Central NY, so when I moved away, I needed to find a recipe to fulfill my craving!

The typical Utica Greens are a sautéed mix of escarole,  cherry peppers, bread crumbs, prosciutto, parmesan cheese and then broiled to form a golden crust on top. This signature dish is usually served as an appetizer, but sometimes can be found underneath an Italian chicken dish or scrambled in with eggs!

After hundreds of attempts, I believe that I’ve finally perfected the recipe and am I excited to share it with you!

What You’ll Need
1 head of escarole
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 thick slices of prosciutto
6 sweet cherry peppers, seeded and halved (sold in a jar)
3 hot cherry peppers, seeded and halved (also sold in a jar)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano
EVOO

What You’ll Do

1) Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees. Clean the escarole and remove the stems. You can do this a lot of different ways, but I prefer to take each leaf off, run it under water and scrub off the dirt. You can also put all the leaves in a bowl of water and let they dirt fall to the bottom. Break the escarole into smaller pieces (usually in half works).

3) Heat about 1 tablespoon of EVOO in a deep skillet over medium low. Drop the minced garlic and prosciutto in. Once the prosciutto gets crispy, take out and set aside. Add the both the hot and sweet cherry peppers and continue to sauté. Once the start to soften, add the breadcrumbs and start toasting them in the pan.

3) At the same time, bring the chicken stock and water to a boil. Drop the escarole in the boiling stock/water and boil for 3 minutes. This step is imperative since it will help remove any of the bitterness in the escarole.

4) Drain the escarole and transfer it right to the sauté pan. Sauté around for 3 minutes and then add a splash of the juice from the hot cherry pepper jar. This is the secret to making the most unforgettable greens.

5) Let the cherry pepper juice cook out a little bit and then stir in 2/3rd of the parmigiano-reggiano. Add the prosciutto back in and combine everything together.

6) Put the greens in an oven safe baking dish and top with remained cheese. Bake until golden brown on top (about 8-10 minutes). Serve and enjoy!

Utica Greens in Baking Dish

Whether you live in Utica (and consider yourself a “greens connoisseur” ) or have never heard of this dish in your entire life, I encourage you to follow this recipe and enjoy a little Central NY legacy :).

Love always,
Erica