Ascolympros, like stamnagathi, belongs to the family of asteraceae. Since the ancient times, the roots, the leaves and its tender stems were eaten. Dioscorides the famous ancient Greek doctor and farmacologist advises fresh shoots of “Sclolymno” to be eaten as asparagus. In Cretan cuisine the crunchy outer part of the roots and the tender fresh shoots are boiled and combined with meat, fish or other vegetables to create dishes that carry the flavor and taste of the earth where they grow and the sea air that blows them.
The wild vegetables that our producers cultivate are not products of modern biotechnology but wild plants that have been part of the Mediterranean diet for thousands of years due to their nutritional and medicinal properties. Now, they are grown in the same area that they were naturally foraged, at the beginning of the peninsula of Gramvousa in the northern western part of Crete, a place of unusual wild beauty. Maybe it’s not the easiest place to cultivate. The wind that blows most of the days of the year can be disastrous; however it’s the wind and the poor inorganic soil that gives the special taste to our products.
Prepare the broad beans from the previous day, put them in water and change it two or three times. Boil the ascolympros in plenty of water. Peel the broad beans off and boil them in a little water for ten minutes. In a baking pan put the boiled ascolympros and the broad beans over it, top with olive oil and salt and mix well.
Cut the codfish into pieces of about one hundred grams. Boil the ascolympros for about fifteen minutes. In a large pot, place the olive oil, one onion, half the pepper, fry for a minute and add the codfish, one side after another. When it is necessary stir very lightly the pot. Add a water glass from the broth of the boiled ascolympros. Boil for about 15 minutes and put into the pot the boiled ascolympros very carefully, trying to put under and between the codfish. Boil the food over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until only the oil is left. Before removing from the heat, take 1 water glass of the broth of the boiled ascolympros, the flour and the lemon and mix them. Put it over the food with lightly stirring. In the serving, add the rest of freshly ground pepper.