André Darlington
This strange little succulent is quite unlike anything else.
Agretti -- also called saltwort, Russian thistle, barilla plant, Salsola soda, or monk's beard -- is a succulent native to the Mediterranean. It is salt-tolerant, and normally grows in brackish water along the coastline. It was once the source of soda ash (sodium chloride) that was a key element to early glass-making. In fact, the clarity of the famous Venetian glass chandeliers was once attributed to this humble herb.
Here in the U.S. it is very rarely cultivated, occasionally showing up in California markets -- and now Wisconsin. Jones Valley Farms, located near Spring Green, sells it for a brief time at the Dane County Farmers' Market. The plant grows here only in late spring.
Mike and Jean Martin from Jones Valley have been cultivating relatively obscure greens from European seeds for a number of years now, and agretti is part of that obsession.
"I treat it a bit like seaweed," Jean suggests. "Try sautéing it with sesame seeds."
Agretti's flavor and texture is the kind of combination that makes gourmets swoon. It looks a bit like grass, or a green Cousin It, and has a crunchy texture -- it almost pops when you bite it. But it also has an acidic flavor that is bright at first, then transforms into a delicate earthiness somewhere between spinach and artichoke. It tastes fresh and a bit tart.
This strange little succulent is quite unlike anything else.
Jean's guidance is correct, as agretti does behave something like wakame (the green seaweed that often accompanies sushi) although with even gentler flavor.
I find that sesame oil can be a little overwhelming for the subtle zing of this green, so even if I'm using toasted sesame seeds and a dash of soy sauce, I still use olive oil.
It's perfect to cook a couple of slices of bacon and then sauté the greens briefly in the resulting fat and then fold the bacon and agretti into an omelet.
It also works well to serve it under grilled fish. I can imagine it being incredible snipped onto a backyard pizza. Susan Russo of Food Blogga has a knockout recipe for agretti fetuccini that leaves the delicate flavors of this scarce plant intact.
