Puntarelle in salsa di alici

In Rome, the stalks of the Catalonian chicory (la catalogna) are known as puntarelle, and this recipe is a peculiarly Roman way of treating it. The plant consists of an elongated head with pointed leaves surrounding a center formed of hollow stalks, which are the basis of this dish, but only after painstaking trimming. Puntarelle are increasingly available outside Italy, but if you can’t find them, the dressing is delicious on curly endive, romaine, radicchio, or any ot