Chef Dimitra
Cretan Vlita Vrasta (Βλήτα Βραστά)
Crete's summer horta: soft amaranth greens, tender stalks, potatoes, and small zucchini, dressed while warm with sharp lemon and green-gold olive oil, the way a weeknight table actually eats them.
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Horta Vrasta of Epirus (Χόρτα Βραστά Ηπείρου)
Created by
Epirote horta vrasta are boiled wild greens dressed warm with lemon and olive oil, plain as a stone and better for it.
Salads
Greek
Weeknight
Budget Friendly
Comfort Food
25 min
Active Time
12 min cook•37 min total
Yield4 servings
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.
Horta vrasta belong to the everyday cooking of mainland Greece and the islands, but Epirus is especially tied to gathered greens because its mountain villages cooked from pasture, field edges, and market bundles before cultivated salad leaves became common. During the Orthodox fasting calendar, boiled greens dressed with oil and lemon became one of the simplest nistisima plates, dairy-free and meat-free without needing alteration. The regional difference is often in the greens themselves: Epirus favors bitter mountain leaves, while Crete may reach for stamnagathi and the islands for whatever grows after the first rains.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
mixed wild greens (horta)
Quantity
1kg
dandelion, chicory, sow thistle, chard, or beet greens
water
Quantity
3L
fine sea salt
Quantity
18g
plus more to finish
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
80ml
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
45ml
plus more to taste
lemon
Quantity
1 small
cut into wedges
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| mixed wild greens (horta)dandelion, chicory, sow thistle, chard, or beet greens | 1kg |
| water | 3L |
| fine sea saltplus more to finish | 18g |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil | 80ml |
| fresh lemon juiceplus more to taste | 45ml |
| lemoncut into wedges | 1 small |
Equipment Needed
- •large basin for washing greens
- •wide pot, 5L or larger
- •long tongs
- •shallow contemporary serving dish
Instructions
- 1
Trim the greens
Sort the horta by hand. Pull away yellow leaves, tough lower stems, and any roots with grit clinging to them. Keep tender stems attached, because they give the plate its bite. If the stems are thick, split them lengthwise so they cook with the leaves.
- 2
Wash them well
Fill a deep basin with cold water and swish the greens hard. Lift them out, leaving grit behind, then change the water and repeat twice more. Don't pour the dirty water over the greens or you put the hillside back on the plate.
- 3
Boil the water
Bring 3L water to a full boil in a wide pot and add the salt. The pot should look too big. Horta need room so the leaves collapse quickly and stay green instead of stewing in their own dull water.
- 4
Cook the horta
Add the greens by the handful, pressing them under the water as they soften. Boil uncovered for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the greens, until the stems bend easily but the leaves still have life. Bitter winter greens may need the full time. Tender chard may need less.
- 5
Drain but save
Lift the greens out with tongs into a colander and let them drain for 2 minutes. Save a cup of the dark green cooking liquid if you like it the old way, warm with lemon. That pot liquor is not waste.
- 6
Dress while warm
Move the warm greens to a shallow serving dish. Pour over the olive oil and lemon juice, then turn them gently with tongs so the oil coats the leaves and settles into the stems. This is the method that decides the dish: dress them warm, not cold, so the greens drink the oil instead of wearing it on the surface.
- 7
Rest and serve
Let the horta sit for 5 minutes, then taste for salt and lemon. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges. On an Epirote table, this can be a salad, a fasting plate, or dinner beside bread and feta.
Chef Tips
- •Choose the freshest bitter greens, not the prettiest named ones. Dandelion, chicory, sow thistle, beet greens, chard, or a mixed horta bundle all work if the leaves are springy and the stems snap cleanly.
- •Salt the water, then taste the greens after dressing. Lemon changes how salt reads on the tongue, so final seasoning belongs at the end.
- •Horta keep for 2 days in the refrigerator, but dress them lightly if you're storing them. Add the last spoon of oil and fresh lemon when you serve, or they taste flat.
- •Serve with bread, feta, olives, or beside grilled fish. During Lent, put them next to beans and a piece of country bread and you have a complete Greek table.
Advance Preparation
- •Trim and wash the greens up to 6 hours ahead, then wrap them in a clean towel and refrigerate.
- •Boil the greens up to 1 day ahead if needed, but dress them with fresh lemon and a little more olive oil before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 190g)
Calories
245 calories
Total Fat
19 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
16 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
520 mg
Total Carbohydrates
12 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
5 g
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