Puntarelle substitute

Best substitute

Belgian Endive

Use the same amount by weight as the puntarelle you are replacing

Best for puntarelle alla romana

Close match

The best substitute for puntarelle is Belgian endive, sliced lengthwise into thin strips and soaked in ice water, at 1:1 by weight. The inner pale leaves of escarole are closer in bitterness, and a half-and-half mix of celery hearts and radicchio gets remarkably close because celery supplies the hollow snap and radicchio the bitterness. What puntarelle contribute is bitterness plus a crunch strong enough to stand up to an anchovy and garlic dressing, so you need both.

Other puntarelle substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Escarole, Inner Pale Leaves Only
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
The same botanical family as puntarelle, and the pale heart leaves have the right bitterness.
What changes
Use only the inner third of the head and save the tough green outer leaves for braising.
Best for
salads with anchovy dressing, winter salads, warm dressings
Closest of anything here on bitterness, and it takes the anchovy dressing beautifully. The texture is the problem: escarole leaves are soft and floppy rather than snappy, so you get a bitter leafy salad rather than the crunch that makes puntarelle memorable. Tear rather than slice, dry it thoroughly, and dress it at the table, because it wilts within minutes.
3Celery Hearts Plus Radicchio, Half and Half
Close match
Use the same amount by total weight, split evenly
The clever workaround, and the one worth trying if authenticity matters more than convenience.
What changes
Celery hearts supply the hollow, watery crunch; radicchio supplies the bitterness. Cut both into thin strips and ice-water soak the celery.
Best for
puntarelle alla romana, winter salads, anchovy and garlic dressings
Surprisingly close, and buyable at any supermarket in any season. The giveaways are celery's distinct vegetal, slightly soapy aroma, which puntarelle do not have, and radicchio's purple staining the dressing pink. Use the pale inner celery ribs only, peel any strings off the outside, and go lighter on the radicchio if it is very bitter.
4Curly Endive or Frisee
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Frizzy, aggressively bitter and genuinely crunchy, which is an unusual combination and exactly what this salad wants.
What changes
Best for
salads with anchovy dressing, warm bacon dressings, with poached egg
The bitterness is more assertive and slightly more astringent than puntarelle, and the hairy, tangled texture traps dressing extremely well, so every bite is more heavily seasoned. It does not curl into ribbons, so the salad looks like a bird's nest rather than a bowl of pale spears. Ice-water soaking helps here too, and using only the pale yellow heart tames the harshness.
5Romaine or Napa Cabbage Hearts Plus a Bitter Accent
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight, plus a small handful of arugula
The most available option, and the one to use when there is genuinely no bitter green in the shop.
What changes
The inner ribs give the crunch; a handful of arugula or a few endive slivers supplies the bitterness that romaine has none of.
Best for
winter salads, anchovy dressings, family meals where bitterness is unwelcome
The crunch is right, especially from napa cabbage ribs, but on its own this is a sweet salad wearing a Roman dressing, and it tastes noticeably mild and one-dimensional. Beyond the arugula, add an extra anchovy fillet, a little lemon zest and a good grind of black pepper, since without bitterness the dressing has nothing to push against.
6Dandelion Greens
Taste and texture differ
one quarter of the total, mixed with a crunchy green
Very bitter, and useful as a bitterness booster rather than the whole salad.
What changes
Best for
mixed bitter salads, boosting a mild substitute, braising
The bitterness is much sharper and more medicinal than puntarelle, and there is no crunch at all, so a bowl of dandelion greens with anchovy dressing is punishing rather than refreshing. As a quarter of a mix with celery, endive or romaine hearts it does the job well. Younger, paler leaves are considerably gentler.
7Catalogna Chicory
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The parent plant, sometimes sold as Italian dandelion or cicoria.
What changes
Worth knowing because if you find it, the pale shoots at the very centre of the head are puntarelle.
Best for
puntarelle alla romana, braising the outer leaves, sauteed greens with garlic and chilli
The outer leaves are too tough and bitter for a raw salad and want blanching or a long saute with garlic and chilli, but the inner shoots are the real thing. If you buy a head, prise it open, cut out the tender central shoots, slice and soak those, and cook the rest as a side dish.

What is Puntarelle?

Puntarelle is a Roman winter chicory grown for its pale, hollow inner shoots, which are sliced lengthwise into thin strips and soaked in ice water so they curl into crisp, bitter ribbons for salad.

Cooking tips

The ice-water soak is not optional and it is doing two separate jobs: it curls the sliced strips into ribbons, and it leaches out a real amount of bitterness. Twenty to thirty minutes is right. Skip it and even Belgian endive tastes harsh and chewy rather than crisp and refreshing.
Cut with a knife into strips about three millimetres wide, working lengthwise along each shoot so the strip stays long. Romans use a wire cutter designed for the job, but a sharp knife and patience produce the same result. Chopping crosswise gives you bitter confetti and no curl.
The dressing is half the dish and it must be an emulsion, not just oil. Mash three or four anchovy fillets with a garlic clove and a pinch of salt into a paste, whisk in lemon juice or red wine vinegar, then drizzle in olive oil. The salt and fat are what make the bitterness pleasurable instead of punishing.
Dress it at the last moment and serve it cold. Puntarelle and every crunchy substitute here soften within about ten minutes of meeting dressing, and the difference between a great version and a limp one is often just timing.
If your substitute is sweeter than puntarelle, which endive, romaine and napa cabbage all are, compensate in the dressing rather than the salad: one extra anchovy fillet, an extra squeeze of lemon and more black pepper. If it is more bitter, such as frisee or dandelion, lengthen the ice-water soak and add a scant quarter teaspoon of honey to the dressing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave puntarelle out?

Not if the dish is puntarelle alla romana, because the vegetable is the dish; there is nothing else in the bowl but the dressing. If puntarelle were one component of a mixed winter salad, you can drop them and add another crunchy bitter leaf, or simply more of whatever else is in there plus a little extra lemon to keep the salad lively.

Where can I buy puntarelle, and when?

They are a Roman winter vegetable, roughly November through March, and outside Italy they turn up mainly at Italian greengrocers and specialist farmers markets, if at all. This is why almost everyone searching for a substitute is not being lazy: the vegetable is genuinely close to unavailable in most of the world. Growing it from seed as Catalogna puntarelle is realistic for a home gardener with a cool autumn.

Are puntarelle the same as Catalogna chicory or Roman chicory?

Puntarelle, puntarella, Catalogna chicory and Roman chicory all refer to the same plant or parts of it. Catalogna is the whole leafy head, and puntarelle specifically are the pale hollow shoots hidden in the centre. Some seed catalogues sell it as cicoria asparago, asparagus chicory, because of the shape of those shoots.

Do I have to use anchovies in the dressing?

Something salty and savoury is essential, because that is what makes the bitterness enjoyable rather than merely bitter, but it need not be anchovy. A teaspoon of light soy sauce or a little white miso whisked into the lemon and oil does the same job for vegetarians, and adds a comparable savoury weight. Plain oil and lemon alone leaves the salad tasting stark and green.

Can I cook puntarelle instead of eating them raw?

Yes, and it is a good use for the tougher outer Catalogna leaves. Blanch them for two minutes, drain, then saute in olive oil with garlic and chilli. Cooking removes the crunch entirely and mellows the bitterness a lot, so it is a different dish rather than a version of the salad. Escarole and dandelion greens are excellent treated the same way.

Related substitutes

More vegetables & aromatics substitutes

Puntarelle substitute

Other puntarelle substitutes

2Escarole, Inner Pale Leaves Only

3Celery Hearts Plus Radicchio, Half and Half

4Curly Endive or Frisee

5Romaine or Napa Cabbage Hearts Plus a Bitter Accent

6Dandelion Greens

7Catalogna Chicory