Roman Puntarelle

In the picturesque markets of the old quarter of Rome, and especially the most famous of them all, the one in Campo dei Fiori, you often will see old women behind the fruit and vegetable stalls cutting tiny bunches of greens in a special way and then throwing them into a container of cold water: They are preparing puntarelle, the most typical of all Roman salad greens. Picked from autumn through late winter, they come from a particular kind of chicory known as Catalogna (Catalonia). Only the more tender inner leaves are used, and the special cutting and immersion in cold water makes the leaves curl.