Puntarelle alla romana - a typical Italian dish
In Belgium, you won't easily find the vegetable. Yet it is worth trying! One of the most famous dishes with this Italian vegetable is puntarelle alla romana: a salad made with raw puntarelle and anchovy dressing. The earthy chicory plant combines very well with the vinaigrette that tastes of the sea. My recipe for this puntarelle salad quickly became a family favorite.
This is how to prepare puntarelle alla romana
Ingredients
- 1 head of puntarelle
- 1 lemon for soaking
- 1 small red onion
- 4 sprigs flat parsley
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 anchovy fillets on salt
- 1 red chili pepper
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ lemon for the dressing
- 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
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Step 1: cut the puntarelle and make them curl
Remove the heart from the puntarelle and carefully separate the shoots. Carefully cut these lengthwise with a mandolin into thin slices. Fill a mixing bowl with cold water, some ice cubes and the juice of the lemon. Soak the puntarelle in the lemony water for 1 hour. This way they lose some of their bitterness, while the thermal shock makes them nice and crisp and curly.
Cut the red onion into fine slices.
![SG 5 puntarelle ontdekking]()
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Step 2: the anchovy vinaigrette
The dish is all about the preparation of the dressing. You should only have a hint of garlic. The anchovy is a must. It provides the umami and the salty flavors. It is best to use anchovies preserved on salt. These still have a bone. Remove the bone and rinse the anchovies with water.
Mix the juice of half the lemon with the olive oil and white balsamic vinegar. Mash the garlic and anchovy fillets into a paste in a mortar. If you don't have a mortar, chop the fillets very finely. Now also finely chop the parsley and the chili pepper. Add everything to the vinaigrette. Season to taste with pepper. You don't need extra salt. The anchovies provide the right amount of salt.
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Step 3: Bring everything together into a crisp salad
Remove the puntarelle from the water and pat them dry. Place them in a mixing bowl and add the red onion. Mix in the dressing just before serving.
You don't want your salad to be limp. Therefore, mix the sprouts with the puntarelle only at the end.
![SG 6 puntarelle romana]()
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What do I serve with puntarelle alla romana?
In the region around Rome, puntarelle alla romana is eaten as a snack with the aperitif. For me, the salad is a perfect lunch. You can also serve it with roasted chicken or meat, fried fish or with an omelet. Prefer a vegetarian dish? Then serve the puntarelle on top of a plate of creamy risotto.
![SG 8 puntarelle romana risotto]()
