A new member in my vegetable repertoire – Barba di frate

Hey there!

 

Or should I say hey Angie?

 

This recipe is actually dedicated to one of my mum’s long-time friends who drew my attention to this strange plant I have never heard of nor have I ever seen it prior to hear mentioning it. She asked me to create a recipe with it and I obviously wanted to take the challenge yet I wasn’t quite sure where on earth I could find those strange looking green stems.

 

If you have read my previous post you’d know that I had stumbled across a little farmers market the other day with the greatest selection of vegetables I had seen in a while. Indeed my purchase didn’t remain just being bear leek and the strange orange fruit I also spotted the ominous green stems called barba the frate I had been on a quest to find.

 

Lucky me! – Bear leek and barba di frate, what else could one ask for?!

 

Since I hadn’t heard of barba di frate before I obviously didn’t have a clue how it should be prepared and even less what it would taste like. Hence I had to do some research on this new ingredient I had lying around in my kitchen.

 

Barba di frate is actually a plant, which is mainly grown and enjoyed in Italy and it happens to be in season from March till June. I found lots of pasta recipes online yet I wanted to create something slightly different yet I still didn’t want to destroy its original shape.

That is why I decided to prepare a creamy stew, which I served on some still slightly crispy barba di frate alongside a slice of bear leek bread from the day before.

 

For the stew I decided to use some baby potatoes, eggplant, which made the whole thing nice and creamy and I also decided to add a can of white beans. For flavourings I went with lemon to add some freshness and then I also added some oregano and a dash of marjoram.

 

The outcome was a true delight. The crispy barba di frate just formed a perfect couple with the creamy eggplant stew. If you can get your hands on barba di frate and if you happen to want to go over the ordinary pasta con barba di frate I can only recommend this yumminess I just created. And even if you can’t find barba di frate you could totally just try this absolutely amazing stew and maybe serve it on top of spinach, Swiss chard or just have it on its own. I actually loved the slight tang the lemon added to the stew, which would have otherwise been rather heavy.

 

 

 

For the stew

 

• 1 onion
• 400g potatoes
• 2 eggplants
• 1 lemon (zest and juice)
• 1 can of white beans (260g)
• 2dl white wine
• 400ml water
• 2dl almond milk (or any other milk)
• 1tsp marjoram
• 1tbs oregano
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil

 

optional topping:

some toasted almonds

 

for the barba di frate

 

• 1 bunch of barba di frate (400g)
• 1 onion
• 1 lemon
• salt
• olive oil

 

 

1. Finely chop up the onion and cut the eggplants and potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
2. Heat up some oil in a pan and add the lemon zest, fry until the onion has softened.
3. Add the eggplant chunks to the onion and fry for another minute or two until slightly browned.
4. Add the potatoes, white wine, water, marjoram, oregano and salt and pepper. Let the mixture come to a boil, the lower the heat to low and cover for around 30 minutes.
5. After thirty minutes your eggplant will be soft and basically falling apart, which gives the stew a nice texture. Your potatoes will be soft and tender. Add the beans and the almond milk, turn up the heat a little and let the stew thicken. After about five minutes it will be ready to be served.

 

Barba di frate

 

6. While the stew is thickening chop up an onion and clean your barba di frate
7. Heat up some oil in a pan and fry your onion until softened, then add your barba di frate and the juice of one lemon. Lower the heat and let the barba di frate soften for around three to four minutes.

 

Voila, you just created a delicious stew, which tastes perfect on top of the still slightly crispy barba di frate. Top the whole thing of with some toasted and chopped almonds and have a slice or two freshly baked bread on the side. I’d go for my bear leek bread, complements this recipe to a perfect spring time dinner. But as always enjoy my lovely creation with whatever floats your boat, the options are endless.

Enjoy your week

 

Bisous