Greens from the Wild

Radicchio, radici di campo, erbe, and cicoria are general words indicating greens that grow spontaneously. What they describe can be anything from slightly bitter dandelion greens and arugula (rocket) to nutty barba di cappuccino (monk’s beard with its spiky leaves) and ortica, nettles, which lose their prickles but not their flavor when rolled into pasta or cooked with greens. They are used for salads and ravioli fillings, eaten with hard-boiled eggs, and cooked into vegetable tarts. Torte di erbe were once made totally with radici di campo, but they are now cooked with cultivated spinach or Swiss chard.