Warm Salad of Wild Greens- Minestra di Erbe Spontanee

Minsetra di Erbe Spontanee - Stewed wild greens

To accompany our delicious stuffed aubergines, Rafaello's mum cooked us up a dish which represents the core of Cilento traditional peasant cooking. From a time in which resources were scarce, nothing was wasted and people made do with what little they could find comes this rich and delicately fragrant side dish of wild herbs. All of the ingredients are leaves and herbs that grow wild in the surrounding mountains and thus were free for everyone to use at a time when market vegetables were expensive and few. Its hard work to make though as one has to go out forraging for the ingredients ones self, not an easy feat on barren, rocky steep mountains. The result however is worth the struggle. Not even salt is added to the stew - simply herbs and water because the varied ingredients produce such a vibrant mixture of flavours.

You will need:

-a large deep cooking pot filled with bubbling boiling water.

-any quantity desired of the following wild greens:

dandelion leaves
wild fennel
borage leaves
nettles
thistle leaves
zucchini flowers

Put all the leaves in the water, boil for about 6-9 minutes, drain and squeeze out excess water.

Heat a good spoon of good olive oil in a pan, add the drained herb mixtures and a pinch of salt and toss in the warmed oil. Serve hot with fresh bread.

Of course, the beauty of this soup is you can add what you find in season, fava beans in spring time, fresh basil, thyme and oregan etc... But the wild fennel is what really gives the soup its kick!