Erba stella
Erba stella is a lovely mild tasting green with thick succulent leaves, akin in flavour and texture to spinach. Chop it finely and add it to salads or on top of hot soups.
7 July 2021
Erba stella is a juicy tender green, traditionally harvested and cultivated across the Mediterranean coastline. It’s a highly adaptive wild plant that grows next to the sea across Spain, Germany, France, Ireland, Portugal, southern Scandinavia and down into Morocco and Egypt.
We grow Erba stella seeds that are imported from Italy, where it is cultivated in some regions. Erba stella is traditionally harvested and served in Misticanza salad, a salad of wild and cultivated leaves thats traditional to the Marche region of Italy, find a recipe for the salad here. In regions of Italy Erba stella is gently steamed and eaten as a side dish with olive oil and salt.
We steam Erba stella and add it to frittata’s, along with steamed escarole, kale and spigarello. I really like making this frittata recipe that uses chickpea flour instead of eggs. Its really easy and so so tasty. I add about five times the amount of greens though, and steam them before adding to the frittata mixture.
Erba stella is a plantain belonging to the Plantaginaceae group. Planta translated from latin to mean foot. Plants in the Plantaginacea group have leaves that growing laying flat on the ground. When we walk down to the beach from our house in Kingston Beach, we can see heaps of small Erba stella plants growing on the limestone rocks along the beach. They are much smaller and grow closer to the ground then the cultivated type we grow, with hairy wild leaves that are no so shiny.
Erba stella translates into Star grass in the South Tyrolean dialect, up in far Northern Italy on the border of Germany. The recipe is by the South Tyrolean Farmers Organisation, a sister organisation of the Southern Tyrolean Farmers Union. They are a group of women who care for community and advocate for strength and status of women in farming.
Star Grass Cake:
For the pastry: 100 g of sugar; 200 g of butter; 300 g of flour; 1 pinch of salt; 1 egg.
For the filling: 200 g of fresh quark cheese; 1 egg; 2 tablespoons of honey; Grated lemon zest to taste; 50 ml of whipping cream; 75 g of chopped walnuts; 1 handful of star grass leaves (also with flowers); 1 handful of delicate herbs such as plantain, lemon balm and lamio; 2 apples or other fruit, peeled and cut into wedges.
Preparation: After letting the shortcrust pastry rest for at least two hours, spread it out in a buttered and sifted round pan with breadcrumbs or lined with baking paper. Pierce the dough several times with a fork. Finely chop the herbs and add them to the other ingredients of the garnish. Pour the cream over the dough and distribute the apple wedges. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 ° for 40 - 50 minutes.
Erba stella hazel nut pesto:
This recipe is by Ivana Mennini, I translated it directly from her website.
100 g of Erba stella
30 g of hazelnuts
100 g about extra virgin olive oil
2 - 3 tablespoons filled with parmesan cheese
"Wash the star grass [Erba Stella], drain it and wipe it with a dry cloth to dab and dry it well. Put the star herb in the blender with the hazelnuts and oil. Blend well several times so as not to overheat the blade. When we have reached the desired creaminess, add the Parmesan and mix well, adding oil to your liking."
