Puntarelle

Cichorium intybus var. foliosum · Vegetable

40 pairings

Puntarelle is the cluster of pale, hollow flowering shoots harvested from the heart of a Catalogna chicory (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum) — a crisp, faintly bitter winter vegetable that is the centrepiece of the classic Roman salad puntarelle alla romana.

Picking a good onedrag

Just cut, shoots snap wetHollow, limp, dark at the base

Market freshThe winter standard: strip the cluster from the head, slit each shoot lengthwise, ice it, then anchovy, garlic, oil and vinegar.Everyday best

The shootsIvory-green, tips just opening, still firm

The snapSnaps, but the break face is only damp

Head and cut baseLeaves relaxed but green, cut face dry and pale

Smell at the cutGreen and quiet, the milky note almost gone

What to look for, from just cut, shoots snap wet to hollow, limp, dark at the base.

Preparing