{"id":10878,"date":"2015-04-22T07:30:09","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T05:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/?p=10878"},"modified":"2021-01-06T11:37:13","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T10:37:13","slug":"green-vegetables-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/expat-life\/green-vegetables-in-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"11 green vegetables I never ate before moving to Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in Toronto, Canada, we had a pretty good variety of vegetables<\/strong> available to us thanks to the city’s cosmopolitan character, but lately I’ve been “meeting” a lot of green vegetables here in Italy<\/strong> that are new to me. I’m opening up to trying and experimenting with these as they come into season, some with more success than others. None of these are particularly rare vegetables, but they’re new to me, and I thought knowing their Italian names and what to do with them might be helpful for my fellow food adventurers. So, here’s my list of green vegetables that I never ate before moving to Italy!<\/p>\n

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Green vegetables in Italy<\/h2>\n

Agretti (Saltwort)<\/h3>\n
\"Spaghetti<\/a>
Spaghetti and Agretti – photo and recipe on Vegan Blog – click for link<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This vegetable is mainly interesting because it looks like hair! In fact a nickname for it in Italian is barba di frate<\/em> or friar’s beard. In English it’s the much less evocative Salsola soda, more commonly known in English as “opposite-leaved saltwort.” The succulent will grow in salt water, though can also be grown without. The wild kind is thick leaved, while the cultivated kind we eat has thick long leaves that are a bit chewy until properly boiled or cooked in a pan.\u00a0Agretti are shoulder-season plants, so best to eat in fall and spring. Italians most often make it saut\u00e9ed with oil and garlic, or a bit of lemon. You can also combine it with long pasta – I recommend this simple article on vegan blog (in Italian) for spaghetti and agretti<\/a>, illustrated in the photo.<\/p>\n

Barbabietole (beets)<\/h3>\n
\"Barbabietole\"
Barbabietole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To call the beet a green vegetable is a stretch, but hey, it’s got green leaves! I never really knew what to do with this vegetable – I’m not a fan of the boiled and packaged beet root that you can buy in the supermarket, plus I tend to be afraid of cooking with and eating anything that will stain everything within a half kilometer radius. However, recently I tasted an amazing salad with extremely finely grated fresh, raw beet root (at Irene Firenze<\/a>, made by Chef Fulvio Pierangelini) and this has opened up a new horizon for me! When you purchase fresh red beets, you should first separate the green tops, wash them and cook them immediately. These can be used like any leafy green vegetable, eaten with oil and salt, chopped up into an omlette or as a filling with ricotta for fresh pasta.<\/p>\n

Cardi<\/h3>\n

The carduus<\/em> grows wild in Italy and is notable due to its spiny and impressive purple flower. Historically, the dried flower was used in the wool milling process for a part called “carding” where the tough flower was used in a press against which raw wool was rubbed to separate the wool from external elements. The young leaves of the plant can be cultivated for human consumption and have a flavour close to that of the artichoke, to which it is biologically close. The stalk looks like spiny celery and can be cooked with some difficulty, best as a casserole full of creamy sauce. You find cardi most often chopped up and mixed with ricotta for an absolutely delicious ravioli filling. It’s not something you regularly find in the supermarket, at least not here in Tuscany, but on occasion it does show up. The flower though is seen all around the countryside.<\/p>\n

Carciofi (artichokes)<\/h3>\n
\"Artichoke
Artichoke and fava beans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Artichokes are hardly an exotic vegetable, but in North America there are not many varieties available. My mom used to make them on occasion boiled whole, and then we’d eat the tiniest bit of flesh off the base of the leaves. She didn’t like the heart, which is the part most people eat! If you’ve only ever had tinned artichoke hearts, you can understand why mom didn’t like them. I’ve always been attracted to the artichokes at the supermarket, but I have no idea what to do with them. Reading online, one gets the impression that there are a lot of recipes with them but that they are a bit of a pain in the butt to clean. Nonetheless, this year I took the plunge and followed a recipe that involved breading and frying them. I figure you can’t go wrong with frying. Hubby was in seventh heaven as I have never fried anything in my life. So: each area of Italy has a different kind of artichoke available to it in March and April and I highly recommend experimenting. When choosing, feel the head and aim for the firmest ones; if they give too much, they’re going to be gummy. When cleaning artichokes, wear gloves to avoid staining your hands, and generously cut off at least one third of the top if you don’t want to be picking hard bits of woody artichoke out of your teeth. If you’re wondering what to make with them, other than frying them, risotto is a good idea – here’s a nice recipe by Amy of The Bittersweet Gourmet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cavolo Nero (kale variant)<\/h3>\n
\"Black<\/a>
Black Kale Tarts by Juls Kitchen – click for recipe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Tuscan green par excellence<\/em>, cavolo nero is the only thing that grows here in the deep of winter (that and other kinds of cabbage). Despite being called “cavolo” or cabbage, it’s not round, and not from the cabbage family although it’s considered close to wild cabbage, apparently. In English it’s translated as kale, but it is not the same as that trendy vegetable everyone’s buying at Whole Foods these days (that’s cavolo riccio<\/em>!). The variety common to Tuscany is the most important ingredient in tuscan ribollita<\/em>, a hearty winter soup. But a while back I saw this amazing recipe by Giulia of Juls Kitchen that for black kale tarts – I’ve borrowed her photo which links to the recipe, follow it here<\/a>. Another way I use kale is by crisping it in the oven and using it as a spicy decoration on other foods – simply wash a large leaf, lay it on an oven tray, brush with olive oil and salt, and bake at high temperature for about 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Cicoria<\/h3>\n
\"Cicoria
Cicoria (chicory)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The dandylion-like leaves of this wild plant are my newest fave food. The leaves are a low-fibre green, appreciated for its purificatory and digestive abilities. It’s slightly bitter, thus best boiled just slightly, though it can also be wilted in a pan with oil and salt. When boiled you can use a bit more of the white stem.<\/p>\n