Updated on November 11th, 2022
If you love the taste of Frisee, but you can’t eat it because of a severe allergy, you can easily substitute it with other greens. Escarole is one such vegetable, and it is closely related to Frisee, with its green colours and curly leaves. Although Escarole doesn’t taste as strong, it has a similar feel and taste to Frisee. Escarole is also available in a new form to prepare a salad.
Frisee Nutrition Fact
What is Frisee?
Frisée is a unique type of lettuce. Lettuce leaves are typically broad and comprehensive in appearance. The leaves of the frisee, on the other hand, are narrow and frizzy. It differs from most lettuce in terms of taste as well as appearance. One of the most popular types of lettuce is butter lettuce, which has a slightly sweet flavour. Frisee, on the other hand, is known for its peppery, mildly bitter flavour.
It’s also known as “curly endive” or “chicory,”, especially in the United Kingdom. Despite the similarity in names, this green vegetable is quite different. The leaves of other endives are usually broad and circular, and Frisee, on the other hand, has short and bushy leaves. It’s still edible, even if it’s not everyone’s first choice for salads or vegetable dishes. It has a slightly bitter and peppery flavour, as previously stated. While most of its parts are edible, the pale, yellow heart is avoided due to its extremely bitter taste.
This flavorful green vegetable goes best with other flavorful ingredients or dishes. Serving a frisee as a side dish with juicy cajun roast chicken, for example, will undoubtedly improve the overall quality of your meal. You’ll want to know how to prepare and serve this frizzy plant now that you know more about it.
Substitutes For Frisee
1. Escarole
You’re in luck if you’ve ever wanted to use escarole as a frisee substitute. Escarole comes in two varieties, the outer and the inner. The outer leaves have a sharper flavour and tend to be bitterer than the inner ones. The darker variety is best used for cooking, while the lighter variety is suitable for salads and milder dishes. Escarole is a beautiful substitute for frisee and is an excellent choice in any lettuce recipe.
When looking for a substitute for escarole, consider kale. Kale is the “king of healthy greens” high in many beneficial compounds. It has been used in medicine for centuries and contains many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. You can use it to replace escarole in almost any recipe. Kale is also an excellent option for soups, and it can be eaten raw or cooked.
2. Radicchio
If you’re looking for a frisee substitute, try radicchio. It is a close relative of endives and chicory, and its bitter aftertaste and crunchy texture make it an excellent choice. It can be purchased in both red and green varieties, and both varieties have a similar flavour and are good on sandwiches and salads. In addition, radicchio is often used in soups.
An excellent replacement for frisee is Belgian endive. This leafy lettuce is similar to endive but slightly bitter taste and has a peppery note. It’s easy to find and complements most salads. Another leafy, red substitute is radicchio. This alternative is also part of the chicory family and adds colour to your dish. The final dish will be the same whether you opt for frisee or radicchio.
3. Chard
The most popular vegetable in the Mediterranean is chard. It is an excellent substitute for frisee and has various healthful benefits, including a high concentration of vitamins and minerals. You can use chard in salads, stir-fries, soups, and stews. Chard is also silverbeet, perpetual spinach, and curly endive. It has a distinctive flavour and texture and can be used in place of a frisee in any recipe. Once cooked, chard loses its bitter taste yet retains all of its health-boosting vitamins.
Chard is a leafy green vegetable similar to escarole. It is similar to escarole but has a milder flavour. Although it is available almost everywhere, kale is known as the “king of healthy greens.” Chard is an excellent substitute for frisee. Because of its large, thick leaves have a flavour somewhere between kale and spinach yet are less bitter than escarole.
4. Arugula
Arugula is an excellent substitute for frisee and works well in salads. Its peppery flavour is a good match for walnuts and pears, and it complements tomato dishes. It can be added to soups and sandwiches and is an excellent substitute for frisee. If you don’t want to make your own frisee salad, you can substitute arugula with dandelion green or radicchio.
Arugula is more expensive than watercress, which is another bitter leafy green. Both varieties are similar in appearance, but arugula has a more distinctive flavour. Arugula can be used in any recipe that calls for frisee, and its bitterness makes it a good substitute in salads, and watercress is equally tasty. Watercress, also called Italian cress, is an excellent substitute for frisee, but watercress has more nutrients than arugula.
5. Spinach
If you’re looking for a delicious alternative to frisee, spinach might be the answer. This leafy green vegetable is native to Persia and belongs to the amaranth family, including quinoa and beets. It is incredibly versatile and packed with vitamins and minerals, and its distinctive bitter flavour can be offset by herbs and spices like garlic and nutmeg. While it might sound odd at first, spinach is a great vegetable replacement because it tastes slightly bitter and complements other flavours and ingredients well. It goes perfectly with garlic powder, which adds a bit of spiciness to a dish.
Besides being a delicious substitute for spinach, kale also provides nutrients and fibre. Leafy greens, such as spinach, may protect against heart disease and are an excellent source of fibre. Another vegetable in the same family as spinach is Swiss chard. When eaten raw, both have a slightly bitter taste, but they develop a mellower flavour when cooked. Either way, they’re an excellent substitute for frisee.
6. Chicory, the Sensitive Cousin
Chicory, winter lettuce, has a more robust, bitter flavour and thicker leaves than frisee. It, like a frisee, has curly leaves that add an exciting tang to a salad. If you want to use chicory instead of frisee in a salad, use half as much chicory as frisee and fill in the rest of the salad with milder lettuce to balance out the bitterness of the chicory. Chicory adds a nice contrast to roasted vegetables and winter pears in a winter salad.
7. Lettuce, green leaf
Aside from red lettuce, the green leafy variety is also good. It comes in two sizes: large and medium; it’s also inexpensive and easy to find.
The leaves are small and narrow, sweet to bitter taste and smell. You can use it in almost any recipe that calls for frisée.
8. Greens with curls
As the name implies, Curly greens are a great alternative to frisée. The curly ends, which are similar, can be used in various recipes. Both are members of the same family and have a bitter flavour that stands out among other ingredients in recipes. In almost every recipe, you can make a substitution.
9. Cabbage
Finally, cabbage is another option for replacing frisée on our list.
The sizes and shapes vary, but the green colours are always vibrant. It’s excellent in various recipes, salads, and anything else that calls for frisée. It has a bitter taste that is similar to that of frisée.
Add it to your cooking whenever you want to add freshness and flavour.
Frisee Recipies
1. Salad de Frisée au Poached Egg
This salad is based on a traditional French country salad. The traditional recipe calls for thick-cut bacon, but this version is delicious without it. It can be served as an appetizer, but I prefer to make a meal.
2. Salad of Frisée with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
Poaching eggs is one of those cooking techniques that has been shrouded in mystery for no apparent reason. We’ve got two tips to help you poach with confidence, even if it’s your first time, and get runny yolks surrounded by firm but not bouncy whites. When you place one on top of a French bistro salad, something magical happens: The yolks combine with the bacon vinaigrette (yes, the fatty element of the salad dressing is bacon renderings) to make a rich sauce that coats the lettuce and crunchy-soft croutons. In this recipe, 1 poached egg per salad is recommended, but if you’re starving and want to make a meal, poach 2 eggs per person. The procedure is the same.
3. Salad de Frisee
Want to make your meal more sophisticated? Frisee salad is crunchy and refreshing. Frisée is a frilly leafy green with a mildly bitter flavour that is perfect for adding flair and elegance to salads. This one serves it with a zingy white wine vinaigrette and a burst of juicy orange, aged Manchego cheese, and crunchy almonds. It’s impressive and adaptable enough to go with a variety of entrees. This is how you do it!
4. Salad Lyonnaise
When it comes to food, we can thank France for many things. Still, one of my favourites is Lyonnaise Salad or Salade Lyonnaise: it’s a delicious combination of frisée, a curly bitter salad green, tossed in a warm vinaigrette and topped with a poached egg and crispy thick-slab bacon pieces. It’s one of those classic dishes that never fails to satisfy and can transport you to the Seine’s banks, even if you’re stuck in your stuffy American apartment.
Poaching an egg isn’t easy, but you’ll be able to master the technique with a bit of practice. The recipe below uses the technique I learned in culinary school, but check out our poached egg tutorial.
Traditional greens are frisée, but any bitter green will do, such as arugula, escarole, or radicchio (red, not green!).
Are Escarole and Frisée the Same Thing?
Escarole. Escarole, frisee’s thicker sibling, resembles a large head of leafy lettuce, with leaves up to two inches wide but much more challenging than a salad green. The outer leaves are heartier than the tender inner leaves, similar to frisee, so you can make two different dishes from one head.
Endive, also known as Belgian endive, is another chicory family member that can be used in place of frisee lettuce. It has similar bitter and peppery notes to frisee and will taste similar in a salad. On the other hand, this crunchy green has an entirely different texture.
Is Scarola a Synonym for Frisée?
Endive. Eskariol, Frisee’s older sister, resembles a large salad with leaves up to a few inches wide and is much more challenging than lettuce. The outer leaves are thicker than the young leaves on the inside, just like the frieze, so you can get two plates at once.
Are Frisée and Endive the Same Thing?
Salads of frisée and endive are frequently confused. Although they look similar, frisée is actually a type of endive salad. It has a more delicate texture and has delicate, worn edges. To balance out the bitterness, there is some sweetness.
Conclusion
The natural bitterness of the Frise allows it to complement and balance more potent components. Make a salad for a bistro. To make your own Lyonnaise-style French bistro salad, combine frise with salty, fatty lardons or pancetta, poached eggs, and shallot and mustard vinaigrette. Serve alongside chicken.
Because frise is a leafy green vegetable, it is low in calories and high in beneficial nutrients. One serving of frise contains one-third of the daily recommended folate, vitamin A, ascorbic acid levels, and small amounts of vitamin K supplement and manganese.
