Traditional Greek Dishes Using Wild Greens

[GreekGirlCooks]

I enjoy collecting wild greens during the summer, and I’ve been looking for more traditional Greek ways to use them. I live outside of Greece, so I obviously don’t have access to all the same varieties of horta that grow there, but I can find quite a few edible wild greens locally.

I usually keep things simple and boil the greens, then serve them with olive oil and lemon. However, I know there must be many other traditional dishes that use wild greens. I’ve heard of hortopita and different regional pies, but I’d love to learn about soups, stews, rice dishes, or other recipes that incorporate them.

Which traditional Greek dishes use wild greens? Are there particular combinations of greens that work best for certain recipes? I’d also be interested in hearing how your family prepares horta or whether you substitute locally available wild greens when living outside Greece.

 

[k_tsoukalas]

There are so many wonderful Greek dishes that use wild greens beyond simply boiling them. Hortopita is probably one of the best known, and the filling can include a mixture of whatever greens are available along with herbs such as dill, parsley, mint, or fennel.

Greens can also be cooked with rice in dishes similar to spanakorizo. You can substitute mixed wild greens for some or all of the spinach and cook them with scallions, olive oil, lemon, and fresh herbs. In some regions, greens are also added to bean dishes, stews, and soups.

I think using locally available greens is completely in the spirit of traditional Greek cooking. Many of these recipes developed around whatever people could gather seasonally. Dandelion greens, chicory, purslane, amaranth, and even tender beet greens can all work beautifully, depending on what grows where you live.