Puntarelle alla Romana 🌱

a crunchy and sweet puntarelle salad served with anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil dressing

Puntarelle

It’s an alien-looking vegetable that comes from the chicory family originating in Italy. The seasonality of puntarelle begins in November and finishes around February. During these months it can be found in almost every mercato neighbourhood market in Rome and it is sold in already prepped form soaking in big containers, or as a whole vegetable. It has loose, long, and serrated leaves that cover a tender heart.

How to prep puntarelle:

Preparation of puntarelle is simple but quite laborious!

• Separate shoots from the main root by snapping them off. Then remove the outer dark green leaves. They tend to be a bit bitter but don’t throw them away - the bitter compounds mellow down once the puntarelle is cooked. They’re a great addition to your meal as a sautéed side dish or added to a soup.

• Clean the separated shoots under cold water.

• Cut the ends of each shoot using a knife - find the part that feels tender and empty, and cut.

On the left (less pulp, more tender), on the right (more pulp, less tender)

• Using a mandoline or a sharp knife cut thin slices and rinse them again (I’ve seen some vendors using this small gadget to make the slices).

• Soak the sliced shoots in cold water for around 1 hour so they curl and crisp up. Soaking them in cold water makes the vegetable taste less bitter.

  

• Drain the puntarelle and use a salad spinner to remove excess water.

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Puntarelle alla Romana recipe

Serves: 1 portion

Ingredients:

• 5 puntarelle stalks (prepped as above)

• 1 garlic clove

• 4 anchovy fillets

• juice from 1/4 of the lemon

• 30 ml olive oil

• salt

• black pepper

Method:

Check the directions on how to get inside the puntarelle’s tender heart (just above).

To make the salad dressing, place garlic and anchovies on a chopping board and mince them with a knife until you achieve a paste-like consistency. Add the paste into a bowl and combine with lemon juice, salt, and black pepper, and mix thoroughly. Then pour olive oil little by little into the mix constantly whisking to emulsify the dressing. Season it with more salt if needed.

Coat the puntarelle with the dressing and serve immediately.