Best Utica Greens Recipe

Utica greens are a great addition to any main course. This recipe combines escarole with cherry peppers and a melody of lemony and garlic flavors that are sure to please your palate. The New York Times reported that this dish was made famous in the '80s by Joe Morelle. The plate was born at his eatery, the Chesterfield Restaurant, in Utica, New York, and that's how it got its name. You learn something new every day, right?

Recipe developer Jason Goldstein of Chop Happy recreated this popular dish, and let us just tell you — it is spectacular. Golstein shares that his favorite part is how easy it is to make. "I skipped the step of boiling the greens and shocking it. It maintains a slight crunchy texture to the escarole," he says. The recipe calls for prosciutto, but Goldstein shares that if you're a vegetarian, you can certainly leave it out.

Without further ado, keep scrolling to find out how to make this quick and easy recipe that's sure to be a major hit in your house.

Let's dig right in and gather the ingredients needed to prepare this delicious dish. To start, you will need prosciutto, which is one of the tastiest meats out there, in our humble opinion. As we mentioned, if you're a vegetarian, you can omit and sub for peanuts if you'd like. "To get a salty crunchy bite, maybe add some crushed peanuts — about a handful," Goldstein suggests. Add olive oil and a few cloves of garlic to your shopping list in addition to onion, salt, and pepper.

When you stop in the produce section, there are a few things you'll need to grab there, including lemon, escarole, and cherry peppers. Last but not least, get breadcrumbs and Romano cheese. Once you have everything in front of you, it's time to begin.

Take out a pan of your choosing, and place it on the stovetop. Then, add in the olive oil and the prosciutto. Turn the heat to medium-high, and let the prosciutto cook until it gets nice and crispy. Just like bacon, this won't take too long to do, so be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

Then, take the prosciutto out of the pan, and set it aside. Don't place it too far, because you will need it in just a bit. Now, you can move onto the next step.

Keep the same pan out that you used to cook the prosciutto. This will make the cleanup process a lot easier. The pan should have some of that tremendous oily flavor that will transfer to the other ingredients. 

Add the garlic cloves, and the onion to the pan first. Next, sprinkle the salt and pepper over top. Let the onions cook until they turn translucent, as that indicates they're finished. (This should take about two minutes.) Now, there are only a few more things to do, and then the dish will be ready to eat. We told you it was easy!

Here's where the rest of your ingredients come into play. Add the escarole, lemon juice, cherry peppers, and a little more salt and pepper. Mix everything for about two minutes. By now, your kitchen should be filled with such a heavenly aroma. Once the two minutes are up, you can sprinkle the crispy prosciutto on top. Feel free to stir everything again to combine the prosciutto in the middle, or alternatively, you can let it sit on the top.

Take out a bowl, and toss in the breadcrumbs and the Romano cheese. Then, pour the breadcrumbs on top of the escarole mixture. Place the pan in the oven, and put it on broil. Then, set your timer for about a minute, and take the mix out when it begins to brown.

Goldstein suggests serving Utica greens with pork chops, meatloaf, grilled chicken, or steak. As for leftovers? "I would add [the greens] to scrambled eggs, put [on top of] avocado toast, or sneak to the fridge at midnight and eat it cold. I think they only last [for] two days," Goldstein shares. Now dig in!