I ate Puntarelle cooked with tomatoes, garlic and anchovies as a side dish several years ago in Venice. This is the photo below:
A Venetian inspiration for a simple pasta sauce or contorno
Puntarelle are one of my favourite Italian vegetables, and because I now can find them in a stall at Queen Victoria Market I buy them. Although they are best known in the classic Roman salad of finely sliced shoots dressed with anchovy, garlic and olive oil, puntarelle can also be cooked to make an excellent contorno or a delicious pasta sauce.
A memory from Cannaregio, Venice
This dish is inspired by a meal I enjoyed in Cannaregio, one of Venice’s most authentic neighbourhoods, during my visit to the Venice Biennale in 2019. Away from the busiest tourist routes, Cannaregio still retains the atmosphere of a lived-in Venetian district, with local markets, small trattorie and canals that invite leisurely wandering.
One of the dishes I ordered at a restaurant was a simple plate of cooked puntarelle that was tossed with tomatoes and I remembered tasting, garlic and anchovies. It was uncomplicated cooking, but memorable because puntarelle were impossible to find in Melbourne or in Adwhere I have found many vegetables that I have had difficulties finding in Melbourne.
Another person ordered the salad. This had red radicchio in it as well as tomatoes and the usual anchovy and garlic dressing.
The results were a simple recipe with remarkable flavour. Italian cooking often demonstrates that excellent dishes require very few ingredients. In this recipe, the slight bitterness of puntarelle, the sweetness of tomatoes and the savoury richness of anchovies create a balance that is both elegant and deeply satisfying. It is a reminder that some of the most memorable meals are also the simplest.
Puntarelle in Melbourne
Recently I have been making the most of the puntarelle available from Sophia’s stall at the Queen Victoria Market. Most often I prepare the traditional salad with an anchovy and garlic dressing and have made a few of these now.
The bunches sold in Melbourne, however, usually contain fewer leaves than those I have purchased in Italy. To prepare them as a cooked vegetable, I often combine the leaves with other bitter greens such as chicory, endive or cime di rapa, which have similar flavours and cooking qualities.
When I was staying in an Airbnb in Venice, I also bought a bunch of puntarelle and cooked both the spears and leaves together simply in extra virgin olive oil and garlic. The Venetian bunch was much leafier than those I generally find in Melbourne, making it particularly suitable for cooking.
And recently I cooked puntarelle in much the same way that I cook cime di rapa for pasta or cicoria ripassata.
A simple contorno or pasta sauce
The version I remembered from Venice included tomatoes, so I decided to recreate it at home. Because good fresh baby tomatoes taste bland during winter, I used quality tinned baby tomatoes drained of their juice instead. Their sweetness balances the gentle bitterness of the puntarelle beautifully.
As with all of the green leafy vegetables as I braise with garlic and anchovies and sometimes chilli, the anchovies melt into the olive oil, creating depth while the garlic provides the familiar flavour combination found throughout Italian regional cooking.
Braised/sauteed puntarelle are equally enjoyable served as a vegetable side dish or tossed through pasta. I prefer short pasta. Because the bunches I buy at the Queen Victoria Market don’t contain many leaves and chicory, endive or cime di rapa are in season, I add more green leaves as well.
RECIPE: PUNTARELLE Cooked with Tomatoes, Garlic and Anchovies
Ingredients
- 1 bunch puntarelle, including shoots and leaves
- Extra leaves of chicory, endive or cime di rapa if needed
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 6 anchovy fillets (or more) in oil cut into smaller pieces
- 250-300 g baby tomatoes (fresh when in season or good-quality tinned baby tomatoes)
- ground black pepper or pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
- salt if you need it.
For serving: 3-4 people
- 350g pasta
- Grated pecorino or toasted breadcrumbs toasted in extra virgin olive oil if desired. (Pecorino is stronger tasting than parmesan cheese and probably better suited)
Method
- Prepare the puntarelle
Wash the puntarelle thoroughly. Separate the shoots and leaves and cut into bite-sized pieces. If the quantity of leaves is limited, add some chopped chicory, endive or cime di rapa. (*On this occasion I added some already cooked cime di rapa that I had in my fridge.)
Traditionally, if serving the greens with the pasta, they are blanched in salted boiling water for five minutes or more (depending on quantity and texture). If using the mixture as a pasta sauce, reserve some of the cooking water. However, I prefer a modern method: sauté the greens directly without parboiling (once again depending on quantity and texture).
- Make the sauce
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.
Add the anchovies and stir until they dissolve into the oil. Add the garlic until fragrant but not coloured.
Stir in the green leaves, toss around in the pan and when they wilt, add about a tablespoon of water, put on the lid and soften further. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Add a little more oil to the pan, add the puntarelle spears and cook for a few minutes until softened but still vibrant. (**I added the cooked left over cime di rapa after I cooked the puntarelle and tomatoes).
Add the tomatoes and cook for several minutes until they soften and release their juices. Season with black pepper and chilli flakes if using.
Serve as a contorno – grilled fish or meat, roasted meats (nothing juicy).
To serve with pasta
- Cook the pasta until al dente.
- Transfer it directly to the pan with the puntarelle mixture, adding a little reserved pasta cooking water if necessary to create a silky sauce. Toss well and serve plain or with grated pecorino or toasted breadcrumbs, according to your preference.
Puntarelle alla Romana and Cicoria Ripassata
CICORIA and Puntarelle (Chicory)
