Italian Dandelion 'Catalogna Puntarelle Brindisina' 5g

Elongated, thin leaves, deeply incised with a very thick, white leaf base. Delicious in salads, especially if a blanching pot is placed over them during the last few weeks of growth…! Italians first immerse them in ice water for a few minutes. After removing the leaves, the base of the plant can be processed separately: beautiful thick buds become visible. Due to the bitter substance (healthy!), it is tasty to stir-fry the leaves and leaf base with nutmeg, balsamic, bacon, or chicken, etc. In Germany, it has also become popular again in recent years under the name Vulkanspargel.
Ton van Scheppingen emailed us:
Pintarella is difficult for a Dutch chef to obtain, but well-known in Italy from February onwards; cultivation mainly takes place in Lazio (Rome and surroundings); the shelf life is excellent. Preparation: thinly, elongated, à Chinoise, so cut into feathers. Locals prefer to eat this with an anchovy dressing.

The chicory family includes endive, capuchin beard, and various types of witloof. Characteristic is the more or less present "bitterness," formerly despised and now highly valued. Let a plant "bolt" sometime: chicory flowers are usually beautifully blue in color and smell of vanilla!

Names:
Latin: Cichorium intybus
Dutch: Capucienenbaard
Also known as: Kapucijnerbaard or Punterella
English: Chicory