HORTA BRASTA (Cooked Greens)

After all the rain ‘horta’ (leafy edible greens) are growing everywhere and there is so much new spinach in the fields I can go and collect a big bagful each day.  I take a little knife and a bag to the field behind my house there I find a lot of horta (wild spinach, nettle tops, seakale beet and dandelions).  I learnt to remember the plants from when I was a very small girl, I would go with my grandmother and she would gather the horta in her apron front.  From now until next summer I can collect greens almost everyday to eat with any of our meals.

Ingredients

As many edible greens as like, take your pick;

Dandelion,

Wild spinach beet

Seakale beet

Various forms of wild endive

Young nettles or nettle tops

Preparation

• Remove tough stems, old leaves and gently wash
• Blanch in shallow water and drain
• Serve warm sprinkled with salt and dressed with as squeeze of fresh lemon and a drizzle of olive oil