Agretti: properties, benefits and how to prepare them

Agretti are one of the most popular vegetables of the spring season, easy to prepare and full of benefits and properties. Their delicate taste also appeals to children and can be eaten raw or simply steamed

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With the arrival of spring it is time to scour the farmers' market in search of the freshest and most delicious ingredients of the season. Among these the agretti certainly stand out which, depending on the locality and the regions are called with the strangest names including beard of the friar e mustard of the monks (who knows why this religious appeal!) but it is always those bouquets in which the filiform bright green leaves of the plant botanically known as Salsola soda.

Index

Properties and nutritional values

Agretti, a typical vegetable of the Mediterranean basin and of the spring season, offer excellent nutritional properties. First of all they are rich in water and they help our body stay hydrated but at the same time a purify since this vegetable tends to stimulate diuresis.

The agretti are of course rich in vitamins A and B and mineral salts including potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron (therefore useful to eat them even in case of anemia).

They are then rich in fiber and consequently stimulate intestinal functions and have a discreet laxative effect.

Nutritional values

According to the food composition tables of CREA, a 200 g portion of boiled agretti (without salt) contains:

Description Nutritious	Value for 100 g	Value per Serving 200 g
Water (g)	91.0	182.0
Protein (g)	2.1	4.2
Fat (g)	0.2	0.4
Cholesterol (mg)	0	0
Available carbohydrates (g)	2.6	5.2
Soluble sugars (g)	2.6	5.2
Total fiber (g)	2.7	5.4
Soluble fiber (g)	0.48	0.96
Insoluble fiber (g)	2.22	4.44

MINERALS
Description Nutritious	Value for 100 g	Value per Serving 200 g
Calcium (mg)	124	248
Fosphoro (mg)	31	62
Iron (mg)	0.9	1.8

VITAMINS
Description Nutritious	Value for 100 g	Value per Serving 200 g
Vitamin B1 Thiamine (mg)	0.02	0.04
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin (mg)	0.12	0.24
Vitamin B3 Niacin (mg)	0.52	1.04
Vitamin C: (mg)	16	32
Vitamin A retinol equivalent (μg)	353	706

How many calories do agretti contain?

A 200 g portion of unsalted boiled agretti contain: 51 kcal

How are agretti preserved?

It is a vegetable that can only be bought fresh and that spoils easily. It is therefore excellent, once bought, to store it for a few days in the refrigerator in a paper bag for food and consume it as soon as possible. As with other vegetables, the earlier you eat the better! But let's see how to cook agretti ...

How are agretti cooked?

Like other vegetables, you first have to wash thoroughly and repeatedly (usually there is a lot of land) your agretti, taking care of remove the final part with a knife, the one close to the roots and any damaged or dry filaments. (Read also: How to clean agretti)

After these operations you can choose to eat your agretti raw, for example in salads, or boiled, sautéed in a pan or steamed, personally the latter is the cooking method I prefer both because the nutritional properties are better preserved and because the original flavor of the agretti is maintained as well as the others vegetables.

A trick to make them stay a nice bright green once cooked is to pass them under cold water, at this point you just have to enjoy them!

Recipes with agretti

The agretti are a perfect side dish for different courses (a little oil and lemon is enough to flavor them) but they are also suitable for making tasty omelettes using eggs or chickpea flour (farifrittata!) or to season pasta. Among other things, this vegetable is also perfect for those on a diet since, as we have seen, the calorie intake of agretti is very limited. Here are some recipes with agretti: