Eating the weeds - horta, oxalis, kaloirya


Cali, I'll look forward to the horta identification!

Question:  (I may have asked this before, I can't remember.)  In Kefallonia, 
there was a flower people gathered and ate, which resembled a tall grape 
hyacingth but with much wider and looser flower clusters of a muted sky blue 
with the older flowers going gray.  It grew nearly two feet tall and was 
found in fairly dense stands.  The local name was "kalo'irya" (kalogyria - 
'monks', for those who don't speek the Greek).  Usually parboiled with green 
garlic and then sauteed in olive oil as "tsigaridhi".  Do you have any idea 
what the species is?  It looks like either some Muscari or Bellevalia.  
(It's definitely *not* Muscari comosum, which also grew there.) Not a 
spectacular plant but pleasant; I'd love to grow it if I can get an ID on 
it.

bob

>Actually it's "hortopitta, "  Bob, made with wild seasonal (winter) greens.
>(The winter ones are "sweet" in contrast to the bitter spring ones like
>dandelions, sarsparilla, wild asparagus, etc.)  The oxalis is only used as 
>a
>seceasoning herb.  This has inspired me to ascertain the botanical names of 
>the
>staples which I know only by their popular Greek ones.  When I do I will 
>post
>the recipe.
>Cali Doxiadis
>Corfu, Greece

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com



Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index