Barba dei frati

I think my mother would have been mighty pleased if my current zeal for eating unusual vegetables matched that of when I was a youngster trying to comprehend WHY we were served greens for supper while at the same time toying with my peas. If she had presented grass on the table, one of us would have something less than complimentary to say!

Barba dei frati (friars' beard) is also known as agretti. A wild grass-like spring produce grown in northern Italy, I've seen them once before in an italian cooking magazine and never gave it much thought until I recently saw them available at Esselunga market. Slightly acidic and bitter when raw, they are tossed into salads; when cooked they taste very much like spinach. They really resemble the stuff that farm animals would go nuts over, and priced at about 6 euros/kilo, are reasonable enough for being human gourmet grass. That 9-ounce bunch above was around €1.50.

Several of the recipes I found suggest to blanch the trimmed bunches for 2-3 minutes before seasoning with good olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. One version was done almost frittata-like; sautéing the greens in a bit of oil before the addition of beaten eggs which were delicately flavored with dried lavender flowers?! I tried a more playful approach by shaping individual 'bird's nests'. Dried chili pepper flakes lended some piquancy to a couple of scrambled eggs and I just heaped them into the centers. The next day I experimented along the style of Asparagi alla milanese (steamed asparagus with a fried egg on top). Now I'm thinking of asian flavors. Slender bunches in sushi or as a side dish seasoned with sesame oil/seeds, fresh ginger, and soy sauce. That, together with korean garlic beef, bean sprout salad, and one fried egg on hot rice makes it a kind of Bee Bim Bap. Anyhow, given the fact that I'm trying to think of creative ways to cook GRASS... I could hardly be considered guilty of 'playing with my food'.

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Agretti nests with poached egg (serves 2)
2 bunches, (8-10 oz.) Agretti or Barba dei frati
extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon
sea salt
2 large eggs
parmigiano
black pepper

Trim/discard the root ends of the agretti and rinse the greens free of dirt. Taking care not to stir them into a tangled mess, blanch them in lightly boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and season to taste with olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon juice, and salt. Divide in half and neatly tuck into the shape of a 'bird's nest' on serving platters.

Either fry the eggs (containing them in a round cookie cutter) or poach them in hot water. Gently slip the cooked eggs into the nests. Sprinkle with grated parmigiano or freshly ground black pepper if desired.