Mixed days of sun and rain mean that every bit of green in Rome has burst: parks, piazze, hedges, ruins and the banks of the river, obviously, but also verges, circles of soil around the base of trees and traffic lights, kerbs and cracks in the pavement. Anywhere that green can push through, it has, and sometimes so enthusiastically it feels like an explosion. Add to this tree roots, which, like ringleaders in a classroom, encourage the eruption. One nearby pavement, overlooked by the recent repaving scheme, looks like a mountain range with a green river running through it.
I was intrigued enough to download an app that promised to identify what, exactly, is bursting out. Although, after a few tries, I’m beginning to wonder if the age of my phone camera is compromising things. When pointed at anything green, it invariably tells me the same thing: tarassaco, or dandelion, which, even without any golden-wonder heads, is one of the few plants I can actually recognise.
The Italian tarassaco derives from the Latin taraxacum, which is thought to come from the Persian tarashaqun, meaning bitter herb. The name dandelion comes from the French dent-de-lion, a good conjuration of leaves shaped like lion’s teeth. Its pivoting yellow flowers are membership badges for the Asteraceae family, along with daisy, sunflower, artichoke, absinthe and lettuce; also, common chicory (cicoria), Cichorium intybus, which has been cultivated into tamer versions of itself – radicchio, witloof (also known as Belgian endive) and tube-like catalogna.
Meanwhile, back at the kerb and anywhere that green can push through, wild chicory competes for light with its cousin dandelion, borage, salad burnet, poppies, fleshy purslane, mallow, nettles, variegated thistles, wood sorrel, wild fennel and leggy mustard rape. It’s a mix that would be recognisable to ancient civilisations, who knew the edible and medicinal value of “free” plants, as well as the power of bitter flavours. Human taste (sapore) has five parts – bitter, sweet, sour, salt and umami – to give us, with sense of smell, a conception of flavour. But taste can also be knowledge (sapere): the instinctive evaluation of what is good and bad, needed or not; a cultural product that can be shared. This is, perhaps, why in Rome and Lazio the taste for and habit of misticanza (a “mix of things”) persists; a salad of young leaves, or bigger leaves and stems to be boiled and served with oil and garlic.
Cicoria, both wild and cultivated, is a particularly well-liked vegetable. Young cicoria or dandelion shoots can be eaten as misticanza: our local, Piatto Romano, serves them with olive oil, anchovy and sumac. Bigger leaves, however, need boiling briefly to dispel some of their inherent bitterness. The remaining bitterness is often met by olive oil, garlic, chilli, anchovy or lemon, or potatoes and cabbage.
Inspired by the idea of patate e fronne (potatoes cooked with fronds of leafy vegetables until soft and wrapped together), this is a particularly satisfying mixture for mixed days. All five are here – bitter, sweet, sour, salty and umami – on a pavement of potato with greens pushing through.
Potatoes and greens with pancetta
Serves 4
800g even-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
Salt
400g mixture of white or savoy cabbage, cut into thick slices, and greens (wild or grown rocket, dandelion, chicory, borage, nettle)
Olive oil
100g pancetta or bacon, or 100g halloumi
1 onion, peeled, halved and cut into half moons
A pinch or two of red chilli flakes (optional)
Lemon or vinegar, to taste
In a saucepan, cover the potatoes with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a lively simmer, cook for eight minutes, then add the cabbage and continue to cook for 10 minutes more, or until tender, then lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Use the same water to boil the greens for one to three minutes, depending on their bitterness, then drain.
In a frying pan, heat a little olive oil, then fry the pancetta until it renders its fat and is slightly golden; if you are using halloumi, cut into sticks and fry until golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside, then fry the onion and chilli (if using) in the fat to soften.
Add the blanched greens to the pan, stir for two minutes over a medium heat, then add the potatoes and cabbage, and stir until well coated. Seasonwith salt, chilli, more olive oil and a bit of vinegar or lemon, if you think it needs it. Tip into a dish and top with pancetta or halloumi.
