Gobbi

As I already mentioned, I love cooking season's vegetables. 
During the winter in Tuscany we have a large range of vegetables: “cavolo nero” (it  doesn't have a translation in English because it can be found only in our region, it is actually a kind of local cabbage) is the essential ingredient for example of ribollita, turnip tops which we serve with pork ribs, but the one I prefer is actually what we call “gobbi”. This vegetable looks like cardoon but the taste is very different! The color is lighter and it has a curved shape. Some months before picking farmers usually cover them to protect from the light. They can be served as a pie or pan-fried with tomato and parmigiano cheese.

I prefer the second one, it is simple, light and the cheese doesn’t cloak the vegetable’s taste.

PAN- FRIED GOBBI

4 people ingredients

800 gr “gobbi”
flour
some small tomatoes
olive oil, salt and pepper
garlic
parmigiano cheese

Wash “gobbi”, remove the core and hard parts: cut them in 7 cm long stripes and put it in water with lemon so that they don’t become dark. Pour water in a saucepan and let it boiled then put “gobbi” anche let them cook until soft. Drain them and let them cool. Take a large pan, put 5 spoons of olive oil and 5 gloves of garlic, cook for a few minutes then add “gobbi” covered in flour. Pan fry, add salt, pepper and half cut tomatoes.

Sprinkle with parmigiano cheese before serving.