Foraging ‘Asparagi Selvatici’ (Wild Asparagus)
It was early March 2021 and I had just had one of those moments…You know the kind? Where you look back and think: ‘I am going to cherish this memory forever’.
It started as my normal brisk morning walk up to the castle of Monte Vibiano Vecchio, but early into it I bumped into Giorgio: devoted Nonno and Father of our sweet neighbours who own ‘La Carneria’ (our local butcher shop) in the next town over.
Giorgio knows just about everyone and everything about this land - as he should; he grew up here and has seen many seasons pass in this very spot. He asked me if I had found any wild asparagus yet. ‘No’ was my answer. ‘Oh…well that’s because you don’t know what to look for’ he said.
Giorgio then took it upon himself to teach me how to spot them (I learned quickly that it’s not hard at all).
We walked and talked as he pointed out the ‘asparagi selvatici’. I was the climber, crawling up the steep slopes to get the skinny asparagus stalks. Giorgio told me the best ways to cook them; either with pancetta (bacon) and pasta or with fried eggs. I opted for the pancetta and added some saffron for fun.
Later, as I read recipes online, I saw they all said ‘classic Umbrian dish’ or something of the sort. This is when I realised I had just learned something very regional and with one of the most salt-of-the-earth men around.
I love the land we now call home and I’m grateful for the gentle shepherds who come with it; The kind of people who always have time to teach you something new or simply nudge you in the right direction.
I have never experienced foraging for food before…
My mom always had a gorgeous veggie patch when I was little, but the closest we came to ‘wild food’ was when she discovered her very own overgrown and neglected asparagus patch in the back of our garden.
She would love to tell the story of 3 year-old Kaila running down to the garden, barefoot in the summer to pick ‘toe-way-toes’ (tomatoes). I would eat them by the handful straight from the vine, while the juicy seeds ran down my chubby cheeks.
This feels different though...
For starters the backdrop is the Italian countryside and I have almost 30 more years worth of wisdom under my belt. What resonates with me most, though, as I hike back up the hill to our home with a hand that can barely hold all my foraged greens is this: I have never felt more in the present moment than when searching our grounds for these skinny purple asparagus stalks.
My mind stops racing, my breath deepens, my smile widens and I feel like a kid again.
