Thursday, April 30, 2009

Frittata di Boraggine-Borage Frittata


When I lived in Venice I used to go with my friends on weekend excursions in the woods of the Venetian countryside. In the spring time we always collected edible plants and then would make the most awesome dishes back home. My friend Paola is an awesome cook and one of the things that connected us was our passion for foraging. There are many plants that are easily foraged in Europe, free and delicious, nettles being one of them.


One of the things that I love to eat is Borage, a very prickly plant with beautiful blue flowers. The leaves can be fried and the tiny flowers can be candied and used to decorate cakes. Borage is a great plant to have in a vegetable garden, apparently it improves the flavor of tomatoes, and it has great health benefits, as an anti-inflammatory, as a stress reliever, and is full of minerals like potassium.

Three years ago I (stole) took a plant from a local garden, that plant grew and its progeny has reseeded itself for the past three years.

I did some work in the garden this morning and felt like eating something I grew, and borage was just calling my name. The easiest way to eat it is in a frittata, for a healthy, quick, and satisfying lunch.


Borage Frittata

1 medium shallot
EVOO
1 cup chopped borage leaves
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

Cook the shallots in the olive oil until translucent, add the borage and cook until soft. Add the cooked leaves to the eggs and mix well. Heat some more olive oil in a non stick pan and pour the egg mixture in. Cook on medium heat until it is cooked halfway. Turn the frittata on the other side and cook through. Serve it warm. I simply rolled a slice with some arugula and ate it as finger food.

Buon Appetito!

9 comments:

"Diva" said...

Brava! ce'l'ho anch'io La borragina!!!

Spero di conoscerti presto!
Judy

Y said...

Oh that looks so delicious! I love borage, but it's not very common here. I think they also call it the oyster plant because of the flavour?

Lien said...

Great Picture! I don't think I ever saw that plant here, but that may also be 'cause I never looked really. Great thing to search your own food growing for free.

Laura said...

Lien,
borage is really common in Europe, it probably grows in your area. I can always send you some seeds.

Y, if you have a little space anywhere you can always plant borage, it is a very sturdy plant, it needs lots of sun though. Let me know if you want to try it, I can find the seeds for you.

Judy, grazie per la visita, a presto!

Simona Carini said...

My mother used to pick borage in a field close to our house. I loved it.

Laura said...

Simona,
borage grows so well in the whether we have in northern California

Cindystar said...

Ciao Laura!
Sono appena tornata dall'Elba con 3 piantine di borragine da mettermi in giardino, piace molto anche a me!
Susan mi ha insegnato a farne anche una buonissima torta salata, l'anno prossimo, se la mia coltivazione procede bene, potrò raccogliere anch'io!

Jamie said...

Very interesting idea, but it looks really delicious!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

An original fritatta! Spring like and delicious looking!

Cheers,

Rosa

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