Borragine, Borrana

This robust flowering herb always makes me think of Liguria, where it is widely used in preboggion, a mixture of wild herbs, and it is also used in Campania to make a delicious soup. With its large hair-covered leaves, borage is better cooked and eaten as a fresh vegetable dressed with a little virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. It also makes a wonderful filling for ravioli (see Pansóti). The extremely pretty pale blue flowers are edible and can be used as a decoration for salads or for making little fritters to go with drinks.