Horta Vrasta of Epirus (Χόρτα Βραστά Ηπείρου)

Horta vrasta of Epirus are boiled wild greens, dandelion, chicory, sow thistle, whatever the mountain market gives you, served warm under lemon and olive oil. This is not a garnish pretending to be a salad. It is the green plate that sits beside beans, fish, feta, or bread, and in fasting weeks it can stand at the center of the table without apology.

The whole dish depends on washing well and dressing while warm. Boil the greens uncovered until the stems yield, then oil and lemon go on before the heat has left them. Warm leaves take in the olive oil. Cold leaves shed it, and you get a slick plate with tired greens underneath. That is the little truth here.

Use the bitter greens if you can find them. Λίγα και καλά, a few things, and good ones. In my Thessaloniki kitchen I cook horta all winter, but the Epirote plate is the one I return to when I want the taste of hills after rain: mineral, sharp, and honest.