Fresh Vegetable

Barbe di Frate

Ref: AGR-01

Italian name: Agretti

Weight order: 4-5 kg

Description: This annual, succulent plant, from Mediterranean Basin, can grow into small shrubs up to 0.7 meters tall (sometimes called sub-shrubs). It has fleshy green leaves with either green or red stems. The tiny flowers develop from inflorescences that grow out of the base of the leaves near the stem

Season: Barbe di Fratte (also known as Agretti or Monksbeard) is one of these early signs of Spring and is widely used in the Roman & Umbrian kitchen from March to May. Grown in marshy areas, these grassy stems are 12 inches wide and 24 inches tall at maturity, forming a bush that looks a little like shaggy chives.

Serving suggestion: It is most commonly boiled and eaten as a leafy vegetable; the recommendation is to cook it in boiling water until the leaves soften, and to serve while some bite (crunch) remains (much like Samphire). It can also be eaten raw; it is said to "taste grassy and slightly salty with a pleasant crunchy texture."