I'm in field. This one to be exact:
But this time with a crazy pug that thinks this is the best day of her life ... Well she always seems to think that. Actually I think being in this field is pretty cool. The weather in Cyprus has started to turn to spring - which I am told will last all of two days until the heat hits and we essentially melt. Anyway, you can smell the change in air, slightly more cigarette smoke, and it seems people are happier. For example they only honk their horns and swear at me a little bit when I can't decide whether to go strait or turn at stop lights.
Anyway I am here in search of "horta" which roughly translated means fresh greens, although I must confess that for the longest time when my sister and I were growing up we thought it literally meant "weeds" because that's what it looked like we were eating. Horta are eaten a lot in Cyprus, but people of my generation wouldn't know how to find them if they were placed in a field. Hence, I am in a field to try and find some edible greens. Today I am searching for something called louvana. It looks like this:
And I am supposed to try and find it in this:
I rummaged around and found half a bag full. My guide found two full bags. We played share-sies.
Now, the funny thing about louvana - if you ask me, and well since I am writing this blog I guess I will, is that I didn't find them all that tasty. They were a bit food neutral if you asked me. They are usually served quite simply - washed and raw together with olive oil, salt and either lemon or red wine vinegar to taste.
I am currently racking my brain to 1. figure out what 'louvana' is called in English - nobody seems to know. Neither does google. And, 2. figure out whether they would taste good if slightly stir fried with garlic and soy sauce, like bok choi. I think so. I also think they would work with a nice rasberry vinegrette, shallots, walnutes and blue cheese. As a said - they are pretty food neutral.Anyway, the neat thing about "horta" is that there are lots of different types in season at different times. As such I will periodically describe some of these plants and show you pictures just in case you ever want to try to pick them yourselves.
HOW TO FIND LOUVANA AND RECIPE
So at the moment, louvana are in stock, I mean available, I mean grown, you know what I mean. In short, you can find them in early March in the mountain fields. You pick only the top 4 inches of the stems - they snap naturally. And you can serve them raw as described above - I have not found a recipe where they are cooked ... yet.
In other words you can make this from louvana:
Just kidding. You can't.
What you can make, is this, with a little olive oil, salt and vinegar or lemon as you wish. See above for food-neutral warning:
