Puntarelle 1kg

puntarelle

La chicory topped it is part of the chicory family.

It is lower than the Catalonian chicory and the shoots hide inside the head.

These sprouts are very good to eat raw (often with the addition of garlic and salted anchovies) and are known as “puntarelle”, a typical dish of Roman cuisine and also widespread in Campania cuisine.

How to Clean the Awl?

Before enjoying a good one plate of chicory it is necessary to clean them.

For those unfamiliar with this vegetable, the part that may seem more difficult is the husking or rather the filleting the shoots, ma is not like this. It's all about having time and patience.

The sprouts, once they have been cleaned, must be cut into very thin strips and must be immersed in abundant ice water: so chicory curls and become even more crunchy.

First of all:

1) Clean the head of catalonia

Remove all the longer green leaves and set them aside to make a side dish, soup or quiche.

2) Detach the florets from the base of the head 

Cut them carefully, removing any leaves that you will combine with those you have kept aside to cook them.

At this point, you've got some chicory similar to asparagus, then remove the hard part of the base from each with the help of a knife and remove any dents.

3) Fillet the sprouts

First cut the top in half lengthwise, then, from each half, make a lot thin strips always cutting the strut along the length: you will need to get about 8-10 threads from each shoot.

4) Rwelcome the strips in a bowl filled with very cold water (also with ice).

Some also add lemon juice to the water to sweeten the taste more.

5) Leave the chicory to soak too 1 night 

(if you don't have time they will also be enough 2 hours). THEn this way you will not only attenuate the bitter taste, but you will get the typical curled shape of chicory.

6) After letting it soak

Rinse, drain well e condisci or cook yours curled chicory and crunchy as you like.

Tips:

If you don't consume them right away, the clean chicory can be stored in fridge for 2 giorni in a freezing bag or you can store them in a food container. It is useful to place a sheet of absorbent paper on top of the chicory and close them with the cap before placing them in the fridge.

How to cook chicory

Le chicory are protagonists in many traditional recipes of Lazio and southern Italy and with them bitter taste they lend themselves to being consumed raw o cooked, as boundary or as first dishes rustic or as a filling for tasty savory pies.

Of this vegetable nothing is thrown away, besides the sprouts, the leaves are good boiled and simply seasoned with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, lemon and salt, steamed or sautéed like herbs or spinach.

Raw chicory

In addition to the famous Roman chicory salad with anchovies, garlic, and olive oil are excellent paired with delicately flavored foods with prawns or salmon, but also with chicken or turkey breast, with fennel or lettuce, with raisins and pine nuts, with oranges, with soy sauce, with capers or pistachios and hard-boiled eggs. The advice is to dress the salad half an hour before serving it. UOnce seasoned it is better not to keep it because chicory they soften and take all the seasoning oil.

Cooked chicory

If you are looking for a satisfying dish to enjoy on colder days, there chicory soup with legumes, especially with beans or with chickpeas, it's a real one c.

Puntarelle also go well with mushrooms, artichokes and pumpkin.

For a first course rustic and tasty, it combines chicory with chilli or sausage. These vegetables are perfect for flavoring pasta, rice, cous cous or gnocchi.

Steamed Organic Puntarelle

After cleaning the sprouts, place them in the steamer basket trying not to overlap them. Place the basket in the pot that you have filled with cold water enough to touch the vegetables, bring to a boil and steam the chicory for 5 minutes or until you manage to insert the prongs of a fork into the sprouts, but without letting them soften too much. Remove the basket, arrange the sprouts in a bowl and season them with extra virgin olive oil, salt and lemon or balsamic vinegar. Serve them lukewarm.

Pan-fried organic chicory

After cleaning and filleting the Catalonian sprouts, leave them to soak in cold water to obtain the classic curled shape. Then drain the chicory and add them to a pan, where you have browned a clove of garlic, mix and cover the pan with the lid for 5 minutes. Add a few anchovy fillets and the chopped chilli pepper. Season with salt if necessary and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve the sautéed chicory as a side dish or season the pasta.

Stewed chicory 

Cut about 500 grams of chicory into strips. To make cooking easier, cut them thinly or remove the hardest part. Brown 2 whole cloves of garlic in a high-sided pan with extra virgin olive oil, add the chicory strips and a little chilli pepper to taste, pour a little water, salt and cook for 15 minutes with the lid on. stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and serve as a side dish with meat or fish main courses and are also suitable as an appetizer.

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