It's sort of an Italian tumbleweed.

[madbaker]

This week's Resolution Recipe: Agretti Saltati con Pancetta.
Agretti is a salty plant which we got in our CSA box; I had never heard of it before. There's a picture from our CSA folks behind the cut.


2 1/2 to 3 cups agretti
2 oz pancetta, diced (I used Boccalone pancetta; I have lots of my own house-cured stuff too, but this needed to be eaten up. Oh, the horror.)

Clean the agretti carefully and cut off the roots to separate the pieces. Fry the pancetta until crispy and drain, reserving some of the rendered pork fat. Saute the agretti in the pork fat until softish (about 3 minutes); add pancetta back in and stir to mix. Serve while warm.

What worked: This was really nice. The agretti is a salt-tolerant plant and has a bit of a salty/marshy taste which blended beautifully with the salty pig parts. It was pretty, simple and quick to prepare, and very tasty.

What didn't: Well, the original recipe said to add salt and olive oil, but there was no need for any additional grease (I actually poured off quite a bit of pig grease to use later) and certainly no need for salt.

Will I make it again? Absolutely, although I suspect we may only get agretti in our CSA box once or twice a year. I'd happily eat it more often, though.

What I'm reading: Gregory Frost, Shadowbridge

Comments

[kahnegabs.livejournal.com]

Psychic Frog has a box full of food and wine magazines. Is this something you could use? He needs to get them out of the house. They are in great condition. I think they are from around 1990 to 2002, but I don't recall the exact dates. Call him if you are interested or know someone who is.