Lacking puntarelle but want to something similarly savory? Rick Easton has a fabulous suggestion; use the stems of any green broccoli or rape. Making a pasta dinner, I tried Rick's trick with my new taglia. It led to a delightfully composed (and eaten!) salad. For those food snobs who would scorn this heresy, invite them to try it with some anchovy and lemon olive oil. Also consider a nice scarpetta of bread to soak up all the juices. Buon apetito!