Neapolitan cuisine immediately suggests a riot of pasta: ragu, Genoese, poor soups with beans, potatoes or legumes in general, a "scarpariello" with fresh tomatoes, spaghetti with clams or seafood.
The recipe has evolved over time. Instead of a pizza stuffed with simple chard, it was then stuffed with the escarole, the queen vegetable of the Neapolitan table, almost always associated with dishes of great structure and robustness.
The pizza with the escarole is still prepared for lunch on December 24, the vegetables are sauteed in a pan with oil and minced garlic, then anchovies, pitted black olives, capers and raisins are added. All seasoned with salt and pepper. The stuffing, thus obtained, is then placed in the pizza which will be baked in a greased baking pan. No wood oven, for the escarole: you simply need the oven that we all have at home.
Ph. Machi di Pace
Finally, it is important to clarify something. In Naples there are two types of escarole: the curly one and the smooth one. The first is mostly used in raw preparations, such as salads, topped with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. The second is the one that best accompanies our substantial pizza, less "rustic" and more delicate.
Ph. Machi di Pace
The pizza with escarole is really the symbol of how the Neapolitans know how to make gold from nothing. Just think of the etymological root of the term "scarola", which derives from the Latin "escarius", that is: edible. Nothing more, nothing less than a vegetable just barely edible, with no rush of taste and flavour, suitable for those who do not want to spoil the palate too much.
On the tables of Naples and Campania, with small variations depending on the area, the escarole has become - as we said - queen of the table; the sovereign around which ingredients, processes and preparations with a strong winter flavour rotate.