Puntarelle alla Romana

For My Friends, Foodies and other Fanciful Eaters…

Last week I made a great discovery! It’s a traditional sidedish here in Italy that originated in Rome but can be found today throughout Italy. It’s called Puntarelle alla Romana. And no, Puntarelle are not mushrooms…they are the hearts inside the chickory plant. Who knew, right? I thought chickory was merely for flavoring coffee in New Orleans! NO!!!

For those people who have visited me here and/or attended a workshop, you know my affinity for salads of all sorts. This salad rocked my world! It is very crunchy, with a tang and just a bit of heat, thanks to some red peppers – all things I love to have in a dish. I was so taken with this salad, I had to ask the chef and he graciously shared his recipe with me, which caused me to rush straight out in search of the ingredients. Imagine my joy when I stumbled upon a package of prepared puntarelle! I then proceeded to make up a batch and then enjoyed it for dinner and lunch the next day as well. Did I mention this keeps in the fridge for a couple of days? Only if you don’t eat it all the first day…

I honestly do not know if you can find this plant in the US – here it is easily available, both fresh and already cut for the salad…but if you can locate it, I suggest you give it a try…it may become one of you favorites.

This is a simple recipe. Here goes:

If using fresh chickory, which comes in a bunch like kale, you must first remove all the large outer leaves, leaving the heart. The heart has hollow tube-like structures. Cut these in half long ways, then cut the halves into match-stick size pieces about 3″ long. You can include the pointier tops as well.

Once cut, soak all these pieces in a bowl of ice water for 30-60 minutes, to remove any bitterness. The cold water and thin size will encourage the pieces to curl up a bit.

While you are waiting, mix together a small nerdle of anchovy paste with some good quality extra virgin olive oil. Mix it into an emulsion and add 3-4 TBLS of white wine vinegar, or to taste, mixing well. (I honestly use a bit more vinegar for the tang.) Seed and finely chop a dried red pepper and add to the mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. I use white pepper and wait to add the salt until after I’ve mixed the vinaigrette with the punterelle. This is not an overly salty salad.

Drain the puntarelle and add to the vinaigrette, turning to mix. Let stand for a bit to enjoy the melded flavors.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

While I was enjoying my first batch of this delicious salad, I realized that there may be another use for it: CEVICHE!!! YES!

Today I incorporated it as a base for ceviche! It was incredible!

In addition to the puntarelle, I added some fresh Valeriana leaves, because they are so pretty and a nice bright green against the paler greens of the puntarelle, along with some jalapeno, fresh shrimp, sushi grade yellow fin tuna and a small fillet of Merluzzo, but any white fish would have been fine. I “pre-cooked” the white fish in lemon juice, but probably the vinegar in the salad would have done the same thing. Afterwards, I thought I should have added an anchovy or two, but too late, lunch was over.

It was delish! And it is now my go-to recipe for ceviche.

Join me on one of my upcoming workshops and this salad will likely be on the menu one day!

Buon Appetito! Ciao for now!