Puntarelle, which is Italian and lightly bitter, is my favorite green of the spring season. Because of my longtime relationship with Italy, I’ve been eating them prepared in the classic Roman way for decades. In those decades, California farmers finally took the risk of planting that unusual variety of chicory, hoping customers will bite. It’s such an odd plant.
Puntarelle, an Italian variety of chicory, is characterized by hollow shoots that look like asparagus. It is available at some farmers markets in Los Angeles. Photo by Evan Kleiman.
Seen whole, a head of puntarelle looks similar to a head of romaine with spikier, dandelion-like leaves. But when you peer into the head, instead of more leaves, you see a clump of asparagus-like shoots coming up from the base. That’s why it is sometimes called cicoria asparago in Italian. These shoots are hollow, and when eaten prepared in thin strips, they are super crunchy, which is why I suppose I love the plant. It’s the combination of that mild bitterness of a Belgian endive or radicchio combined with a juicy crunch.
Preparing them for salad takes some time, but it’s not difficult. One discards the external leaves and vertically cuts each shoot into long julienne strips, which are placed in ice water to soak. The cold water causes the thin, long pieces to curl and helps maintain the crunch until you’re ready to eat.
Puntarelle are traditionally paired with an assertive garlic-anchovy vinaigrette, which mellows the bitterness perfectly. But you can also cook them as you would Belgian endive or radicchio, or eat them raw whole as crudite.
Here’s a tutorial on how to prepare them and to make the dressing. If you want to buy a special cutter to make the work of prepping them easier, you can order here.
Puntarelle curls up after it’s cleaned, cut into thin strips, and soaked in cold water. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.