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An ODe to Anchovies

Puntarelle alla Romana & Anchovy Butter Roast Chicken


The curly green shoots drying after their ice bath
The curly green shoots drying after their ice bath

I felt like life had been sadly lacking in anchovies of late, so to rectify I made a double anchovy Sunday lunch as follows. Also, here is a link to the River Cafe Podcast where Saoirse Ronan says she made this very chicken! Who knew.


Puntarelle alla Romana

 

Tasting this for the first time was one of those seminal food moments that will stay wedged in my memory like a cheese triangle for the rest of my life.

 

No, it wasn’t in some perfectly rustic, winter sun-splashed trattoria in Rome, but in the first restaurant I ever worked in in cold Kensal Rise. It was mid-winter, there was thin ice on the canal, and the ducks quacked half-heartedly. I got to work at dawn and a big wooden crate from Natoora had arrived outside, bulging with some green vegetable I had never seen before. It had a bulbous base, pale white, and then long, green tipped leaves, like cartoon dragon’s tails. It looked a little like a giant dandelion crossed with a fennel bulb. It was Punteralla. And so began the beginning of a lifelong love affair.

 

Puntarella, or asparagus chicory as it is also known (if this isn’t enough to enthrall you then I don’t know what will, what could be better than a hybrid of those two heavenly vegetables?) is a winter gift from Italy. A member of the chicory family but more strange and more beautiful than most of the chicories we know well, it is most commonly served alla romana, or dressed in a punchy anchovy dressing. This combination is totally addictive. As thirst quenching and lip-smackingly satisfying as a Campari spritz, but the more green-tasting, savoury salad version. In fact, I recommend drinking it with a Campari soda/spritz.  

 

If you are lucky enough to find Punterelle then I urge you to try making it into the salad below.

You can add blood orange, capers, cheese, toasted nuts, shaved fennel, anything that works well with bitter leaves. Here I give you a purist verson, because that is how I fell in love with it, and would like you to, too. As you use the little, stumpy buds within for the salad, the long leaves can be blanched and then sauted and eaten as greens. They are also good wilted with extra garlic and oil and some pine nuts and raisins.

 

Notes to remember:

-       The puntarella once sliced should be soaked in a big pot of iced water for a while before serving, which helps remove the bitterness

-       Before dressing it you must dry it really well (on clean kitchen paper or a clean tea towel) because otherwise the salad will be watery and disappointing.

-       I like a combination of lemon juice and red wine vinegar in the dressing, as the vinegar gives punch and the lemon freshness.

-       I don’t use garlic in my dressing, but it is also nice to add a whiff

-       If you find winter tomatoes they’re also a good addition, as is dressed wilted spinach, as are any of the other ingredients mentioned above

-       It’s perfect on its own as a salad/antipasti but it is also perfect as a side with roast pork or chicken or lamb  

 



Dressed in punchy ancho dressing. Possibly the best dish on this earth.
Dressed in punchy ancho dressing. Possibly the best dish on this earth.

 



Makes enough for 2 as a lunch, add much bread

 

1 large head of puntarella

120ml Best olive Oil

2 tbsp Red wine vinegar

1 small tin anchovies (10-12 fillets)

Salt, a pinch

Half a lemon, juice

(half a clove of garlic, optional)

 

Strip away the leaves from the puntarella and set them aside for using separately. Break off the little stubby shoots from the main bit, discarding the central bulb which is woody and tough.

 

Finely slice the shoots (they look like little stubby, frilled thumbs) and plonk them in a big container of iced water.

 

Make your dressing in a blender to help break down the anchovies. If you don’t have a blender just whisk it and it will still be ok. Taste for seasoning; it needs to be really punchy. Add salt (I usually do, it needs it even with the anchovies). Drain and dry the punterelle well, then toss in the dressing. Check for seasoning and serve. 

 

You will probably only use about half of this dressing but you do need to dress the leaves generously, and then I add a pot of extra dressing on the table to dunk bread into.

 





A Kind of Italian Roast Chicken 

 

The perfect thing for a relaxed gathering. Plenty of wine, fresh bread and a green or bitter salad are the only other things necessary. The chicken as it roasts produces a delicious deep brown savoury gravy, which you can add a splash of white wine to, if you like, about half way through cooking.

 

Rosemary, Anchovy, Garlic and Lemon Butter

 

1 x small tin anchovies (or 12-14 fillets) 

1 small lemon, zest and juice 

2 garlic cloves 

200g butter 

2 tbsp chopped rosemary

 

1 whole chicken 

Salt and pepper 

 

Season the chicken lightly all over, inside and out. 

 

Put all the butter ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning.

 

Stuff some of the butter inside the cavity and under the skin all over the breast. Smear the rest all over the chicken with your hands. 

 

Place the bird upside down in a roasting tray and roast for 45 minutes at 180. Remove from the oven, baste the bird all over with the juices, and then turn it breast side up. Turn up the oven to 200 and roast for another 20 minutes. Insert a skewer into the fattest part of the thigh and press. If the juices run clear the bird is done. If not, then put back in the oven for a few more minutes. Once cooked, leave to rest for a few minutes before carving and serving with all of its delicious juices. 

 


Lots of bread for these sacred juices
Lots of bread for these sacred juices

 

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