Wild Chicory in Oil, Hand-Gathered in the Pollino National Park
The Pollino National Park is the largest nature park in Italy: high mountains, ancient forests, valleys of near-total silence, where centuries of human presence can still be seen in the villages, the old transhumance routes and the foraging traditions handed down from generation to generation.
Every spring, once it's warm enough for plants to wake up after the cold months, wild chicory is gathered on the slopes of the Pollino and in the open land around the villages. It takes nothing sophisticated: a knife, a small hoe and an eye trained to spot the right leaves. Few people know how, and those who do learned by watching someone before them.
Wild chicory is not garden chicory. That one is cultivated and predictable. This one grows where it pleases – on banks, at field edges, in open meadows – with irregular, rougher leaves and deep roots that give it a character cultivation can't reproduce. It is more bitter than the cultivated kind, and that is not a flaw but its defining trait: in many southern Italian kitchens that bitterness is the most prized note of all.
It is picked in spring, taking only the tenderest leaves from the base rosette before the plant flowers. After flowering the leaves turn tough and too bitter. In that short spring window, wild chicory is at its best: soft leaves, bitterness present but not harsh.
The leaves are cleaned carefully, sorted and briefly blanched in wine vinegar. The vinegar doesn't just preserve; it works on the bitterness so that what remains is the most interesting side of the chicory. The blanching softens the leaves just enough while keeping their bite and adds a tangy note that settles in the oil over time. After drying, the chicory is dressed with extra virgin olive oil and aromatics.
Garlic brings depth; mint brings a fresh herbal lift that naturally balances southern bitter greens; chilli flakes bring an even warmth on the finish; whole black peppercorns add a drier, aromatic heat – and the occasional burst if you bite into one. Extra virgin olive oil wraps everything up, preserving it and softening the bitterness without cancelling it.
The result tastes unmistakably authentic: the bitterness is there, balanced by the vinegar, the sweetness of garlic and mint, and the warmth of the chilli. Bold for those not used to bitter flavours; instantly recognisable to anyone who knows southern country cooking.
On an antipasto board it brings deep green colour and the scent of mint and garlic. With rustic bread it's already a complete starter. With aged cheeses the contrast is best understood by tasting: the bitterness cuts the richness, the cheese softens the bitterness. The same goes for cured meats.
As a side to grilled or roast meat it needs no extra dressing. With pulses – especially chickpeas or beans – it revives a pairing deeply rooted in Calabria and Basilicata.
A seasonal product from a specific place, which lasts all year only because someone went out in spring to gather it at the right moment.
How to enjoy it
On antipasto boards with aged cheeses, cured meats and rustic bread. With crusty bread as a simple starter. As a side to grilled or roast meats. With aged cheeses such as pecorino or caciocavallo. With pulses: beans, chickpeas, lentils. In omelettes or with fried eggs. On bruschetta with raw extra virgin olive oil. In mixed seasonal salads.
Storage
Store in a cool, dry place before opening. Once opened, refrigerate, keep the chicory covered with its oil and consume within 4–5 days.
Size
200g jar.
Ingredients
Fresh wild chicory, wine vinegar, salt, extra virgin olive oil, whole black peppercorns, chilli flakes, garlic, mint.
