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By Antonio Carluccio and Priscilla Carluccio
Published 1997
A great variety of salad and vegetable plants are included under this name. They have a common characteristic in that they are all bitter because they descend from the wild plant Cicoria selvatica, a close relation of the dente di leone (dandelion).
Catalogna is a cultivated relative of wild chicory, which is similar in shape to the dandelion but is much larger, growing up to 50 cm (1โ ft) high. Its dense leaves grow from a root which, along with the tender white part of the stems, can be braised in a similar way to the wild dandelion. It can also be simply boiled and dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice or used to fill vegetable tarts mixed with ricotta, cheese, eggs and spices. Catalogna puntarelle (little tips) is a bushy variety of the same plant, with 20-30 tender juicy little shoots attached to the root. It can be eaten cooked and dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice.
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