Puntarelle alla Romana is a classic Roman appetizer or salad that I’d only first learned about while recently reading Mimi Thorsenson’s latest cookbook, Old World Italian. An elegantly curled tangley mound of savory, slippery crunch, this anchovy-garlic-lemon dressed dish was a little mini revelation for me. I won’t call it caesar salad’s cooler slaw cousin, but oh I want to.
Turns out puntarelle (or cicoria di catalogna or cicoria asparago) is quite a common winter chicory in Italian markets, but here in California it is still pretty rare. This might be changing as of late with a few of our local famers trying their hand at growing it. I’ve seen both lithe young heads and rugged, confident masses for sale. I’ve used both sizes for puntarelle alla romana with success but can’t help thinking about other grilled or roasted incarnations as well.
While there are many ways to prepare this vegetable, one of the most common methods is halving the separated shoots lengthwise and then patiently, diligently slidding them. Slidding is my own word for this labor of love which is part slicing, part shredding, done with a paring knife and best learned by watching. So YouTube away if you’d like to know more. Ideally you’ve chosen to do this on a day when you’re in the mood for a bit of calming hand-work or a nice chat with a friend - similar to the way a big bowl of garden fresh peas invites you to shuck slowly and enjoy the breeze - such is the mood required for methodical puntarelle slidding.
Collect the tender slivers into a bowl of ice water and leave for 30-60 minutes or so but not longer. The ice water encourages the slivers to curl and keeps them from oxidizing but be cautious of over soaking as too long in the bath can cause precious delicate flavor to leach out. I learned this the hard way.
If you are in search of the puntarelle at your market, look for it’s elongated head and protective cloak of dark green jagged dandelion-like leaves. This outer layer protects its namesake, le puntarelle. These ‘little points’ are a treasured bundle of shoots clustered together in the center of the head. Le puntarelle have a firm, ribbed, celery-esc body, a hollow center, and tips that resemble asparagus tops in their own eager tender-leafed + budded way.
Mildly peppery arugula like flavor, with hints of bitterness reminiscent of a chicory or an endive.