Agretti, also known as “barba di frate,” are a herbaceous plant found in spring. This plant has many healthy properties: minerals and vitamins A, C, B, E and very few calories. Agretti can be eaten both raw and cooked; it is important to use them within 2–3 days. To give them more flavor I prepared Tasty agretti in a pan using the same ingredients as the Traditional escarole pie which I love very much.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Low cost
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter, Spring
- Energy 298.03 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 14.03 (g) of which sugars 8.80 (g)
- Proteins 5.39 (g)
- Fat 24.60 (g) of which saturated 2.98 (g)of which unsaturated 8.04 (g)
- Fibers 4.28 (g)
- Sodium 394.19 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 145 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 9 oz agretti (about 8 1/3 cups loosely packed (fresh))
- 2 tsp baking soda (for washing the agretti)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 oz pitted Taggiasca olives (pitted (about 10 small olives))
- 2 1/2 tbsp pine nuts
- 2 tsp capers (from salt) (desalted)
- 2 fillets anchovy fillets in oil
- 2 tbsp raisins (soaked and drained (about 0.7 oz))
- 2 tbsp dry white wine (about 1 fl oz)
Tools
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- Kitchen scale
- Frying pan
- Bowl
Steps
Start by thoroughly cleaning the agretti which, because of their roots, are full of soil. Remove the pink part of the root, trim away any withered strands and immerse in a bowl of cold water with one tablespoon of baking soda added. Stir to dissolve the baking soda and leave for 5 minutes. Lift the greens out and rinse two more times until the water runs clear. Pour the oil into a pan and add the pitted olives halved, the pine nuts, the soaked and squeezed raisins, the desalted capers, the anchovy fillets and the chopped garlic (if you don’t like it you can leave it whole to remove it later).
Let everything sauté a few minutes, then add the agretti. Stir and, once they are flavored, deglaze with the white wine and cover with a lid. Do not add salt as all the ingredients are fairly salty. Let cook for 10–15 minutes over low heat, stirring so they absorb the flavors well; when they seem cooked, turn off the heat and serve.

