P
Italian · Rome, Lazio
Cicoria Ripassata in Padella Romana
Rome's most ubiquitous side dish: wild chicory (cicoria di campo) boiled until completely tender, then drained, squeezed, and 'ripassata' (re-passed) in a pan of olive oil, garlic, and chilli until wilted, glossy, and slightly crisped at the edges. The double cooking — boiling then frying — removes bitterness while creating a more complex, garlic-forward flavour. The cicoria must be completely drained and squeezed; any residual water causes it to steam in the pan rather than sauté. Served throughout Rome as a contorno or as a topping for bruschetta.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
800 g
wild cicoria di campo (Cichorium intybus)
washed, woody stems removed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
Your own market
3 cloves
garlic
sliced, not minced
Your own market
1–2
dried chilli (peperoncino)
whole or roughly broken
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
to taste
fine salt
for the boiling water; season again at the end only after tasting
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Bring a large pot of abundantly salted water to a rolling boil. Add the cicoria and boil for 10–12 minutes until completely tender — not al dente. The leaves must offer no resistance; they will cook a second time. Taste a stem: it should be soft through.
2
Drain the cicoria into a colander. Allow it to cool enough to handle, then press it firmly between both hands in successive batches, expelling as much water as possible. The squeezed mass should feel dense and dry to the touch, with no water running when pressed.
3
Pour the olive oil into a wide, heavy pan and set over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the sliced garlic and the chilli. This is where the dish lives or dies: the garlic must go into hot oil so that it colours correctly — pale gold at the edges — rather than going limp and pale in cold oil. Watch closely; the garlic should turn golden, not brown.
4
Add the squeezed cicoria to the pan in one mass. Sauté over high heat, pressing down repeatedly with a wooden spoon and turning the greens so that all surfaces meet the pan. Continue until any remaining moisture has evaporated, the cicoria is glossy, and the edges show a light char. The sound of active sizzling, not steaming, confirms correct heat.
5
Taste before seasoning: the boiling water has already salted the cicoria. Add salt only as required. Serve immediately as a contorno, or pile onto bruschetta with a pinch of additional peperoncino.
From the canon — Bruschetta is toasted bread rubbed with raw garlic, drenched in your best extra virgin olive oil, and finished with ripe tomatoes. Bruschetta →
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Freshly foraged wild Cichorium intybus, gathered before flowering, with the slender stems and pronounced bitterness that double-cooking is designed to discipline; cold-pressed single-estate Lazio olive oil.
02
Estate — Wild cicoria sourced from a specialist market grower or Italian delicatessen; a named extra-virgin olive oil of Central Italian origin.
03
Market — Cultivated cicoria di campo from a farmers' market or good greengrocer; a sound extra-virgin olive oil of Mediterranean origin.
04
House — The closest available bitter green that can withstand double cooking — cavolo nero or mature dandelion leaves in extremis; a clean, fruity olive oil. Supermarket chicory, endive, and radicchio are not substitutes for flavour.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. The squeezed cicoria holds its shape in the hand with no water running from it when pressed — dense, almost fibrous.
◇Sight. Garlic slices turn pale gold at their edges in the hot oil before the cicoria is added.
◇Sound. An active, dry sizzle — not a wet hiss — persists throughout the sautéing step, confirming the moisture has left the pan.
◇Sight. Finished cicoria is glossy and collapsed, with visibly darkened, lightly charred edges on some leaves.
◇Where it lives or dies. The garlic must enter hot — not cold — oil: this single decision separates a glossy, garlic-forward ripassata from pale, steamed greens.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Bushmills Malt 10 Year Old
Old Bushmills Distillery · County Antrim — Bushmills Distillery
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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