Dish of the Week: Puntarelle
Where: Dino

Winter can be a difficult time to find and enjoy your daily requirement of vegetables. If looking for something seasonal, we’re typically saddled with root vegetables. They have their place, but sometimes you just have a hankering for something else. Fortunately, puntarelle, a vegetable in the chicory family, is available at this time of year. A combination of knobby asparagus-like stems and serrated dandelion-like leaves, it has a slightly bitter taste with sweet leaves.

The traditional Roman method of consuming puntarelle is in a salad with a light dressing of anchovy, garlic, parsley and lemon. The light dressing highlights the bitterness of the vegetable, while adding saltiness and an extra kick of pungency. For a limited period of time, Dino has imported puntarelle from Treviso, Italy. It has a stronger, more bitter kick than the puntarelle that is usually brought in from Pennsylvania. The Italian stuff is around for a limited time, so check ahead to make sure they have it. If not, the more local puntarelle is still delicious.