Puntarelle

Puntarelle

What it is

Puntarelle are the hollow inner shoots of a Catalogna chicory, and Roman cooks split them lengthwise on a wire grid so the strips curl in iced water within twenty minutes. The curl is osmotic rather than decorative: cut cells take up water and the strip bends outward, and the bitterness leaches into the bath at the same time.

In the kitchen

The dressing is pounded anchovy, garlic and vinegar finished with oil — no lemon, and no more than an hour ahead or the strips go limp. Keep the outer leaves for cooking, as only the shoots are eaten raw.

Goes with

Anchovy Garlic Olive oil White wine vinegar Black pepper Lemon Parsley

Same species

Barbe de capucin Castelfranco chicory Belgian endive Escarole Frisée Radicchio

In season alongside

Bamboo shoot Bergamot Bettarazuke Blue foot mushroom Broccoli Brousse du Rove

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