One of the best signs of spring in Dalmatia and Istria area is the wild asparagus on the menus of local restaurants. You can also see bunch of people standing by the main road (especially in Biograd area) selling fresh, wild asparagus just picked from the nearby forests.
The wild asparagus is a well known delicacy but most people think it grows mainly in Istria although we in Dalmatia pick it earlier then them. The season is sometimes from mid March to mid April and the asparagus can be found on markets during that period.
Asparagus grows in the fields and forests and prefers bushes although I have found some (up to 1 meter high!!!) in the grass. The asparagus, or šparoge, is always found next to the small bushes with needle-like “leaves” which are actually old plants of asparagus.
Picking asparagus in the wild is a great exercise after a long winter! But not everyone is awake yet :)))
Many animals are just out from their winter hideouts and not all are nice and sweet like the tortoises!
Snakes are just waking up but in the woods, where we hunt for asparagus, we mainly see blavor or European Legless Lizard (Ophisaurus apodus). This is a large glass lizard found from southern Europe to Central Asia and quite common in Croatia!
Asparagus has been used from the earliest times as a vegetable and medicine. It is known for delicate flavor and diuretic properties. Some people even eat it raw! We, in Croatia, are mostly oriented to this wild asparagus and don’t think much of the farm grown asparagus which is much milder in taste.
The most common way to enjoy the asparagus is to cook it and serve it with hard boiled eggs (a touch of vinegar and lots of olive oil is the way to enhance the taste). Istria is known for fritaja or fritata way of preparing the asparagus.
So, for the authentic taste of dalmatian Spring, just serve a plate of tender asparagus that simply melt in your mouth!
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Ja ih obožavam!!!! -blago rečeno 🙂
Meni je sve od branja do vina na kraju ludnica! Ja sam jedan od onih koji ih ne može jesti ako ih sam ne ubere :))
i ja ih uživam brati,:) i naravno sve što slijedi nakon toga…Imam tako istrenirano oko za njih da me zezaju da ih vidim ih na kilometar,:)
vidin da ste guštali…ovo van ovod još jedna riceta radi promine…poz…
http://dalmacija.kovacevic.nl/archives/231-fritada-od-paroga….html
dobra fritada!!!
Bez okljevanja cu odmah reci da ih ja ne volim 🙂 ali nakon sto sam procitao i ovaj post dat cu im jos jednu sansu i to prvom prilikom.
P.S. Iako sam otkrio ovaj blog tek prije nekoliko tjedana nastojim pohvatati konce te citam i starije postove za koje ne znam jesu li ukusniji ili opipljiviji 🙂 Stoga, sam ostavio link s mojih stranica – desni stupac pod “Travel”. LP!
Fala Kristijane! Uzvraćam istom mirom čim uvatim minut, dva!
I love that tortoise 🙂
Don’t like the legless lizard! Is that not the same thing as a snake???
Ja san ih baš sinoć spremala. 🙂
A majura ( blavor) ne volin vidit!
I ja sam ih jučer popodne nabrala na Marjanu… Slijedila je perfektna večera… Zeleni pozdrav!
@ Cathy – legless lizard looks like a snake but it is not the same! Very pretty animal
@ Covka – heheheheheh moja se zena smrzne kad ga vidi pa je moran nositi na cestu :)))
@ Rada – ajme sta smo ih nabrali oko Dubrovnika! Tu ih bas ni ne beru pa smo im mi “pokazali”:)))
Novi postovi slijede s juga RH!
Pretty? I will take your word for it!
Evo i mog doprinosa recept sa šparugama,:)
http://enogastromama.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/sparuge-s-pancetom-mladom-kapulicom-i-pomidorinima/
@ enogastromama – savršeno!