Escarole is known as "scarola" in Italian. Escarole is a leafy green that is part of the chicory family. If you pass it in your local grocery store, you might confuse it for a giant head of leaf lettuce. Like its cousins in the chicory family, escarole is considered a bitter green. It may be counterintuitive, but escarole's green outer leaves are more bitter, so they make the best addition to rich stews like this one. The inner leaves are more tender and mild, and are most often included in salads or layered into a sandwich.