Chicory: A specialty of Rome and probably a vegetable you should know

Raw chicory bundled from the market

I've heard about chicory before... well, at least I think I'd heard about chicory. I honestly had no idea what it was exactly until getting to Rome two weeks ago.  Chicory or Cicoria is a specialty here (along with artichokes). It is a leafy green vegetable, similar to spinach but more bitter, almost like a broccoli rabe.  It is utterly delicious but is somewhat particular.
I love it.  I've tried it a bunch of times now and I can't get enough. I honestly wish I had known about it sooner because it's a great addition to my vegetable repetoire. It's a leafy green like spinach, broccoli rabe and kale, so it's very, very healthy and packed with vitamins.
Chicory is a somewhat woody plant with beautiful, bright blue flowers. Upon seeing a picture of it in the
wild, I wouldn't naturally think that it's an edible plant, but now that I've tried it, I know better. The leaves are edible raw in salads or cooked down like spinach while the roots can be baked, ground and then used as a healthy coffee substitute. It is far more common in Europe which is why it isn't very well known in the states but it has recently started being cultivated in North America and Australia. It's becoming more widely available which is definitely nice. I would really hate coming back to the states and not being able to eat it all of a sudden. It's slowly becoming a staple in my diet.

Ripassata served at "Il Secchio" in Rome Center

I love how it's prepared in Rome. It's either prepared "all'agro" which means cooked down in a pan with some olive oil and salt and then drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice. The lemon works quite nicely with the bitterness of the chicory leaves. The other popular preparation of chicory is "ripassata". Basically the fresh chicory leaves are cooked down in a pan just like all'agro except it is cooked with olive oil, whole cloves of garlic and a small quantity of red pepper flakes. It is absolutely delicious and my favorite way to eat it. I even taught myself how to prepare it.  It's super easy to make and utterly delicious.

what I started with in my pan...

The only thing to remember is that like spinach, it is a very deceiving vegetable. When you first put it into a hot pan it looks like you're going to be making a lot of it. However, by the end of the cooking process, the leaves loose their water and shrink down. So I suggest always making more than you think absolutely necessary so you have enough to eat. It is utterly delicious but you always need to make more since it shrinks.

what I wound up with...

Chicory has been around for a long time, even Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) a leading Roman lyric poet through 65 to 8 BC ate chicory. It's been a cultivated crop for centuries but is still a delicious staple in many people's diets. I strongly recommend giving it a shot. Add it to your diet for its lovely flavor and the healthy addition it makes to your diet.  It is a great vegetable so try cooking it for yourself or if you're in Rome, you should absolutely order it as a side dish to go with your meal. It's usually very affordable and I've never had it poorly made. Believe me, I've tried it in a lot of restaurants. It is generally really, really good.

As part of your New Year, give it a chance. Try something new!