Puntarelle alla romana

One of the vegetables I miss most from my Roman days is puntarelle, a chicory native to the countryside around Rome. More formally known as cicoria catalogna, it differs from other sorts of chicory in that it has a core of thick but tender shoots, white at the base and green at their tips, with a pleasantly bitter and peppery taste. They rather resemble stubby asparagus, which gives puntarelle the nickname cicoria asparago or “asparagus chicory”.

Romans make a gorgeous and delicious salad with these shoots called insalata di puntarelle alla romana. The shoots are cut into thin julienne strips, then soaked in ice cold water until they curl up. They are then dressed in a flavorful garlic and anchovy dressing. The contrast of tastes and textures is just heavenly.

Puntarelle alla romana was part of my regular rotation when I lived in Rome, but for years afterwards I had to do without, except when I went back for a visit. I’ve never found them in the markets where I now live. So imagine my delight when I happened upon them for sale online! After doing a little digging, it turns out that puntarelle are becoming increasingly available outside Italy.

Back in the day, I used to buy my puntarelle pre-trimmed and pre-soaked at the local market, which made puntarelle alla romana stupidly simple to prepare. But now that I need to prep them myself, I bought myself a handy special purpose tagliapuntarelle or puntarelle cutter for julienning the shoots. You can also just use a paring knife. Prepping puntarelle is admittedly a bit of a chore, even with the cutter, but the payoff is totally worth it.

If you don’t have access to puntarelle, no worries. You can approximate the experience by using the tender white hearts of curly endive, which actually is also a kind of chicory, or other similar greens (see Notes). With this zesty dressing, it will still be delicious.

It’s an experience you really don’t want to miss.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 head of puntarelle

For the garlic and anchovy dressing:

• 250ml (1 cup) best quality extra virgin olive oil
• 50g (2 oz) anchovy fillets
• 3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 100ml (1/4 cup) white wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Prep your puntarelle

Start by removing the large outer leaves from the head.

You will be left with an inner core of stubby shoots and a few very slender leaves:

Cut off the tough base of this core and separate the shoots. Then push each shoot through your trusty puntarelle cutter so as to produce little julienne strips:

You can also just use a paring knife—but it will obviously be more work. Some people also trim off the white base of the shoots and use only the hollow green tips. Personally I don’t bother, although if you are using a paring knife it’s probably the way to go.

As you julienne the stalks, place them in a large bowl of ice water, along with the slender leaves. And when you’re done, add more ice and let the puntarelle soak in the fridge for at least one hour.

After soaking, drain the puntarelle and pat them very dry.

Make the garlic and anchovy dressing

Place the garlic cloves in a mortar and grind them into a fine paste, then add the anchovy fillets and grind them, too, but not as fine. (I prefer little bits of anchovy, which is more interesting to the eye and mouth).

Add the olive oil and then the vinegar, then mix well with a fork or whisk.

Finally, season with a pinch of salt (not too much as the anchovies, of course, are already salty) and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Assemble your salad

Place a handful of puntarelle on a salad plate or in a shallow bowl.

Drizzle the dressing over the puntarelle and serve immediately, preferably with crusty bread so you can fare la scarpetta afterwards. You don’t want any of that delicious dressing to go to waste.

Notes on puntarelle alla romana

The recipe is stupidly simple if you leave aside the prep, which is admittedly a bit of a chore. As mentioned in the recipe, you can make your life easier by buying a tagliapuntarelle. In Rome they’re easy to find, of course—and dirt cheap—so if you’re planning a trip there why not pick one up? Otherwise your best bet is online. I got mine from Fante’s Kitchen Shop; it should be easy enough to do an internet search to find a source where you live.

Other than prepping the puntarelle, the hardest part of this recipe, if you’re not living in Italy, is actually finding the vegetable. It was basically impossible until fairly recently. The good news is puntarelle are becoming increasingly available abroad. In the US, I understand they are grown in California, so if you live there they may be available at your local farmers market. You can also find them on sale at Union Square market in New York. Elsewhere in North America you can purchase puntarelle online via Alma Gourmet. They are available via Canada Produce as well. I understand that they are becoming ever more available in stores in the UK as well as online. And there’s at least one store in Melbourne that carries them.

Why the soak?

The soaking the julienned puntarelle shoots serves three purposes: First, as mentioned at the top, they curl the strips which produces a lovely aesthetic effect. Second, the cold water helps crisp them up, giving them their characteristic crunchy texture. And third, the soaking draws out excess bitterness. And the longer the soak, the more these effects will take hold.

Substitutes for puntarelle

If you don’t have ready access to puntarelle, there are substitutes. Prior to my recent discovery, I used to make a kind of mock puntarelle salad with the white hearts of curly endive, cut into lengths which I would soak in ice cold water just I would actual puntarelle. Of course it wasn’t quite the same as the real thing, but for me it satisfied the “itch”.

I’ve seen some sources recommend radicchio which, though I’ve never tried it, would no doubt make a nice, if quite different, salad. Treviso radicchio would be ideal in my opinion, again if you can find it. On occasion, I’ve used julienned Belgian endive, with fine results. Belgian endive is softer than puntarelle, but it has a similar crunchiness and mild bitterness. And finally, some sources recommend dandelion leaves. I personally don’t find it a very convincing substitute. Dandelion is much more assertively bitter and has an entirely different look and texture. But with that lusty anchovy dressing I’m sure it makes a nice salad.

The dressing

As you may remember from our post on making salads the Italian way, this is one of the few (perhaps the only?) example in traditional Italian cooking of making salad dressing separately from the salad itself. Usually you dress salads with olive oil, vinegar and salt, added one by one. Here the garlic and anchovy require a different treatment. Ironically this one-of-a-kind dressing might be the closest thing you’ll find in actual Italian cookery to “Italian dressing” as it is marketed abroad.

If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, or are just feeling a bit lazy, you can make the dressing in a mini chopper or by using a hand blender. Just add all the ingredients (other than the salt and pepper) to the bowl and give it a whizz, making sure to leave a little texture. Then season to taste. The dressing won’t be quite as fine as preparing it by hand, but it’ll be plenty tasty.

You will find some non-Italian recipes calling for additional ingredients—mustard, capers, fresh parsley and so on. These additions aren’t original nor, to my mind, do they improve the dish. That said, I do tend to go heavy on the garlic and pepper in my dressing, something that isn’t necessary 100% DOC either. I also add less vinegar than the classic 1:4 ration to the oil—just a drizzle to give it some zing.

Making ahead and Leftovers

While you should dress the salad just before serving, you need to soak the puntarelle at least an hour ahead. Puntarelle can sit in their water longer if you like, as long as overnight. If you do this, it’s a good idea to add a few drops of lemon juice to the ice water to prevent discoloration. And add more ice from time to time to keep things cold.

The dressing can also be made ahead but I’d recommend not more than a few hours. The taste of the garlic in particular tends to get stronger the longer it rests.

And by the way, don’t discard the green outer leaves of the curly endive! While they are a bit too bitter raw to be eaten as a salad, when cooked they lose most of their bitterness and develop a wonderful, milder flavor. Use them for soups such as  minestra di riso e cicoria or blanched and then sauteed with garlic and olive oil, a technique known as ripassare in padella. You can use the sautéed greens as a side dish, or to make a frittata or a torta salata. They also make a lovely condimento for pasta.