AUNTIE PASTA: It's Not Easy Being Green Redux

CHIAVERI, Italy – Every once in a while I come across things at the fruit and vegetable market that I have never seen before. Some are easy to identify, like the onions from Zerli, Zerli being a town high in the hills behind Chiavari where the onions are grown. Even though they are pink, they are still onions. Other things are not so easy.

 Chiavari's Daily Fruit and Vegetable Market

A couple of springs ago, when I was still living in Saronno, I came across a strange looking vegetable called agretti. They look like green sea grass with pink roots. I didn’t buy them because I didn’t know what to do with them, but then one day my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to give them a try. After all they were green, I’m in Italy, and if there is one thing Italians know about, it’s green things. 

My first idea was to just put them in a frying pan and sauté them with a little olive oil and garlic, the classic Italian treatment. But then I remembered a dreadful experience I had with artichokes that never cooked, and decided it might be a good idea to boil them  first. I cut off the roots, cleaned them and put them in a pot with a little water and brought them to a boil. I wasn’t sure how long they should cook so I just kept testing them until they felt “tender”.

 

 Sure Sign of Spring in Italy - Agretti, Fave Beans, Asparagus, and Fresh Peas

Then I drained them and put them in a sauté pan with a little rosemary oil, a couple of medium size cloves of garlic, and for good measure I threw in a small chili pepper. My father always said, when in doubt, put an egg on it. So I did. A little salt, a grind or two of pepper and then - the moment of truth. 

I don't know what I expected but much to my surprise, my agretti frittata was really delicious, sweet, tender and flavorful.  Like a lot of Italian foods agretti are called different names in different parts of Italy. Even in Saronno they were sold as barba di frate, barba di cappuccino and agretti, depending on who was selling them. In other parts of the country you’ll find them called everything from barba del negus to bacicci, soda, ruscano, riscolo, lischi and finocchi di mare.  

 Pink Onions

So now I’ve come across more green things, this time in Chiavari, but this time I have no idea what they are called. The Chiavari green things are kind of like agretti but longer, and skinnier and the roots are not a pretty pink.

 I found them sitting next to a mound of green beans at one of the vegetable stands at the morning market so I figured they must be some kind of mutant green bean. I bought them anyway. 

 “Do I cook these like green beans?” I asked the woman at the vegetable stand, handing her the bundle of green things. 

“They are better if you cook them with some tomato,” she said.

 Agretti

I wasn’t convinced but there really wasn’t time for any more conversation. It was Saturday and the market was super busy, so I just took my green things and went home.  

Later that day I sautéed a finely chopped onion in some olive oil and threw in a crushed clove of garlic. So far I know I’m OK. After I washed the green things very carefully, I cut off the root end and cut them into three parts. I put them into a pot of boiling water and cooked them using the same method I used for the agretti – tasting them every couple of minutes. They had a strange feel, kind of rough, not smooth like a green bean.

 The Chiavari Green Things

 While they were cooking, I finely chopped a couple of tomatoes and added them to the onions and garlic and let them cook down. If I were a really good cook, I would have peeled the tomatoes first, but I’m not, so I didn’t.  When the green things were tender I drained them and when the tomatoes, onion and garlic were perfectly cooked, I added the green things to the pan. I cooked everything together for a couple of minutes and then turned off the heat. 

That’s when I got the bright idea to make some rice to go along with my tomato and green thing dish. My mother-in-law used to make green beans in tomato sauce and she always served rice with it. My tomatoes were not exactly saucy, but they would do. In the end, the green things were really tasty. The fruttivendolo was right, the tomatoes did add to the dish, and if I ever see them in the market again, I would cook them the same way.  I just wish I knew what they are called.  

 They'll Never Make the Cover of Bon Appetit

What I’m hoping is that someone will recognize them and post a comment or send me an email and tell me what they are. Am I too hopeful?

AUNTIE PASTA: Color Me Green

SARONNO, Italy - Agretti, also called barba di frate, is a spring vegetable I didn't know existed until I moved to Saronno. They are slightly odd looking, a little like dark green sea grass with pink roots. Agretti never struck me as being particularly appetizing but after passing them up for the past couple of years, my curiosity got the best of me. After all they are green, I’m in Italy, and one of the things the Italians do best is cook green things.

Asparagus, peas, fava and agretti - It's Springtime in Italy

My first idea was to just put them in a frying pan and sauté them with a little olive oil and garlic, the classic Italian treatment. But then I remembered my dreadful experience with the artichokes that never cooked, and decided it might be a good idea to boil the agretti first. After I cut off the roots, I cleaned them and put them in a pot with a little water and brought them to a boil. I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take so I just kept testing them until they felt “cooked”.

Then I drained them and put them in a sauté pan with a little rosemary oil, a couple of medium size cloves of garlic, and for good measure I threw in a small chili pepper. A little salt, a grind or two of pepper and then - the moment of truth. I don't know what I expected but they were sweet, tender, flavorful and delicious. It was such a relief after my disastrous experience with zuccotto last week.
Trolling the internet for more information and other recipes using agretti I learned that they grow throughout the Mediterranean and in North Africa. They used to be grown in northern Italy, up near Venice, but now the bulk of the crop is produced in Spain, where they are called barrilla, and Sicily. Like a lot of Italian food they are sold under different names in different parts of Italy. Even here in Saronno they are sold as barba di frate, barba di cappuccino and agretti, depending on who is selling them. In other part of the country they are called barba del negus, bacicci, soda, ruscano, riscolo, lischi, finocchi di mare and they are also sold by the name of the town or area where they grow. 

Agretti Quiche

It was surprising how many recipes I found for this vegetable. Apparently it is a popular dish in England too, but there they cook the greens in butter rather than olive oil and most of the recipes called for the addition of chopped onion. I wanted to try the English version too, so for dinner I made a frittata with the agretti I had left over from lunch. What I found was that the butter changed the delicate flavor of the greens and actually overpowered them, which in my experience is totally against every written and unwritten rule of Italian cooking.
 

Agretti with Ravioli
 

In all fairness to the Brits, even some of the Italian recipes seemed a bit heavy handed. One of the Italian recipes called for sautéing them like I did in olive oil and garlic, but with an anchovy and no chili pepper. Another recipe for agretti with trenette added cubes of boiled ham and a scallion to the sautéed greens, and another suggested chopped pancetta instead of boiled ham. There were also recipes for agretti with tofu, agretti with meatballs, agretti quiche, agretti with ricotta, with goat’s cheese, with octopus and with sea urchins. I’m sure all the recipes are good, but I think I'll just stick to simple agretti with olive oil and garlic, at least for now. 

Agretti in the Market
 

I don't know if this vegetable is sold outside of Europe, but if you ever see it in your local market pick it up and give it a try. If you like greens, I'm sure you’ll like it. Buon Appetito!