Do you also wonder how to cook Puntarelle? And what are they? Here is a small guide to a vegetable little consumed and known in Northern Italy but highly used and appreciated in the South.
Puntarelle are a particular type of Chicory asparagus or catalogna chicory with a white color found in the center of bunches covered with long sawtooth leaves with a slightly bitter taste.
They are eaten mostly raw in salads, remaining bright white and very crunchy, while the outer green leaves should be boiled first and then sautéed.
Nothing is wasted from Chicory asparagus, and they have zero calories, contain Folic Acid, Calcium, and Potassium, and are perfect if you are on a diet because they are very filling.
Here below I leave you some ideas, and after the photo, we will discover how to cook Puntarelle!!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients for Cooking Puntarelle
- 1 bunch puntarelle
- 2 pinches salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 fillets anchovies
- to taste chili pepper (optional)
How to Cook Puntarelle
First, to prepare the puntarelle, you need to remove the base of the bunch and then take off the outer leaves (chicory).
Wash them very well, and these should be boiled before being consumed.
Once you get to the puntarelle bunch, how do you cook them? First, gently detach each sprout and wash them very well.
Then, cut them in half lengthwise and then into very thin strips, immediately placing them in ice water so the puntarelle will curl.
Peel the garlic clove (2 are also fine if there are many puntarelle) and chop it very finely.
In a pan, sauté the garlic clove in a little oil, then add the anchovies cut into small pieces and let them melt.
Add the puntarelle drained and dried from the ice water, salt, and if you like, add some crushed chili pepper.
Cook the puntarelle, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
You can bake the puntarelle au gratin in the oven, so clean the puntarelle, cut them into very thin strips, and place them in ice water for at least 1 hour.
Then blanch the puntarelle in slightly salted water for 2 or 3 minutes, drain and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400°F in static mode, then oil a baking dish and in a plate mix 1/2 cup of grated pecorino cheese with 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs.
Dress the puntarelle with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1 teaspoon of marjoram, mix and place in the baking dish.
Sprinkle with the breadcrumb and pecorino mixture and bake on the middle rack for at least 15 minutes.
For a quick and delicious first course, you can prepare the puntarelle with pasta, so clean and finely cut the puntarelle.
Then place them in ice water for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop an onion and let it wither in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil, drain the puntarelle, add them with the onion.
Salt and cook the puntarelle with the onion, stirring often for 10 minutes, season with some fresh chopped chili pepper if you like.
In the meantime, cook the pasta, leaving it al dente, in a pan without oil brown 2.8 oz of diced bacon.
When the pasta is al dente, drain it into the pan with the puntarelle, mix and let it flavor, maybe adding 1 ladle of pasta cooking water.
At the end of cooking, sprinkle with crispy bacon and the fat left in the pan.
With the leaves of the puntarelle kept aside, that is chicory asparagus or catalogna, you can make an excellent and very simple side dish.
Wash the chicory leaves very well, cut off the harder terminal part and blanch it in plenty of slightly salted water.
It will take about 12 minutes, then drain and squeeze them.
Season the drained chicory with salt, pepper, and fresh chili pepper and use them as a simple side dish to accompany any main course.
You can use the boiled chicory to prepare fava beans and chicory or sautéed chicory with sausages and potatoes.
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How to Store Puntarelle
To store the puntarelle, you can put them once the outer green leaves are detached in an airtight container with some paper towel in the refrigerator for 2 days.
An alternative is to wash them, drain them, and while still intact, place the sprouts in a freezer bag and then thaw at room temperature before finely slicing and cooking them.
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