Vegetable - Friars Beard or Saltwort

[Pauline]

I have friends traveling in Umbria and Tuscany and tonight they texted me saying they had a vegetable for dinner that they had never seen before - Brother's Beard. I could not find it under that name so they asked their server and he said it is also called Saltwort or Friar's Beard. I checked with @Valerie and she gave me the Italian name, agretti. Searching on "bardo" I found it in the Italian Food Decoder.

A spring vegetable, found in central Italy, similar to samphire. Used in traditional Jewish dishes.

My friend sent me a photo of her dish.

Screenshot from the Italian Food Decoder app.

 

[Giulia da Urbino]

Liscari here in Northern Le Marche, always called them Barba dei frati (that's the name that we use in Milan). Apparently they are also called Barba del Negus (probably not called that for a few years now).
It's delicious!

 

[JustTravel]

I posted these photos under Photo Hunt 2019 No. 13 on March 31-

We were introduced to agretti when we were invited to lunch while in Orvieto in 2003. So, when we saw some in Assisi in 2007, we just had to have some. We haven't been in Italy in the spring since 2007, so we haven't had any since then.

What we boought that day in Assisi outdoor market in 2007.

 

[Valerie]

They have a rather short season - they appear and then disappear pretty quickly. We had them once in Rome, and I bought them once. When Pauline texted me, I looked up the Jewish connection and it says they're a traditional Sabbath dish in Rome when in season.

On a different note, I'm trying to find out what herb/plant is currently in season that has a mild garlic flavor (but not garlic or onion family). We had an incredible pesto at a mountain restaurant made from it but I didn't understand the dialect name they told me for it and can't find it by searching. He described it as "un'erba che sa di aglio". Any guesses?

 

[Ian Sutton]

I'll look out for this.

I love Samphire, though a good long soak and rinse is essential for us, as we're not huge fans of saltiness. For the first time, I'm trying to grow Samphire at home this year. At least the slugs won't eat it!

 

[Pauline]

We had an incredible pesto at a mountain restaurant made from it but I didn't understand the dialect name they told me for it and can't find it by searching. He described it as "un'erba che sa di aglio".

We are in the garlic flowers season here - Ransoms. Long green leaves and small white flowers. They are edible and I have seen pesto recipes using them. I get them with my Riverford vegetable box. I used them in a soup. They are mildly garlicy.

 

[Valerie]

Hhmmm, he said it wasn't garlic but tasted like it. Need to do some investigating. It was really delicious.