Preparing Herbs of the Field – Erbe dei Campo
Cooking Wild Greens - A Delicious Tradition This time of year in Umbria, you will see people out in the fields harvesting wild greens. Italians love to forage for these…
NO, Not Pasta Again! Cooking NON-Italian Dishes!
Enjoying Non-Italian Dishes - A Welcome Change! ASIAN-STYLE NOODLE SOUP I'm about to write something some people might consider culinary blasphemy, but here goes: Sometimes the TandemSpirits simply don't want…
A Cultural Weekend in Rome
An Amazing Weekend in the Eternal City! A Beautiful Roman Gallery Ready for ChristmasThe Tandem Spirits love going to Rome, but we usually just go for the day, taking an…
Visiting Seattle Friends in Pienza
Pienza - Stunning Tuscan Landscapes A view of Pienza while hikingAt the end of October we finally made it to Pienza to visit our friends Carol and Roger. Carol and…
Tandem Spirits in Venice, Part 1 – Enjoying Venetian Cuisine
There's a Lot of Good Food in Venice! Dinner at Hosteria Al Vecio Bragosso A perfectly grilled fillet of orata, white polenta and a glass of local white wine, what…
Wedding Bells in Cappannori
Wedding Bells in Cappannori TandemSpirits spent the first weekend of July in Lucca and Cappannori. After arriving and settling into our hotel, we made the short drive up to the…
Adventures in Puglia – Bicycling, Beaches and More!
We just returned from a wonderful vacation in Puglia, which is commonly known as Italy's "heel." This is the third year that our friends Alessio, Stefania and (recently) their infant…
This time of year in Umbria, you will see people out in the fields harvesting wild greens. Italians love to forage for these foods which is a practice that goes back to times when food was hard to come by. The locals here harvest mushrooms and wild asparagus, truffles and other foods when they are in season.Of course, the TandemSpirits love wild greens and we eat them this time of year.What are wild greens composed of? 
Wild greens are a wide variety of what we Americans would normally call "weeds" like dandelions, wild anise, fennel and other plants. From a culinary point of view, they are quite bitter in taste. From a nutritional perspective, there's a lot of literature that suggests eating greens is quite good for you. 
Last week, my greengrocer Mario, had huge bags of wild greens in his shop. I had him weigh out 1.5 kilos (3.3 lbs) which would be enough for a few meals. The picture shows the pile of greens I brought home. Oh, I also picked up a yellow Romagna head of cauliflower (yummy!!!).The next step is to cut off all the roots! 
Then you rinse them in water. Generally, greens are not very dirty. I can usually get them clean after about 4 rinses. 
Cooking the greensThen comes the fun part! Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil, add the greens and boil them for about 10 minutes. 
After boiling the greens for 10 minutes, pour them into a colander to drain. Stop the cooking process by rinsing them with cold water. Then, squeeze the water out of them and form them into balls which can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. 
Cooking wild greensCooking the greens couldn't be easier. Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the cooked greens, salt them and saute until they're heated through. That's it!! Of course, you can add red pepper flakes, garlic or shallots, but the TandemSpirits like them prepared simply. They are flavorful and really don't need any help!!!The night I prepared the greens, we enjoyed them with mashed potatoes and chicken! 