Tag: borage

Borage: 5 reasons why it is good and how to cook it – Italian Cuisine

An annual herbaceous plant of the Borraginacee family, equipped with characteristic-looking leaves and delicate blue flowers, native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
And the borage, already known in Roman times, useful and precious for ours health.

The best known recipes that never fail at Easter and in general on spring tables, there are the Genoese ravioli and the always Ligurian and always stuffed tordei. But borage can also be used for savory pies, lasagna, bread dumplings or spectacular stuffed paccheri.

Here you will find many ways to cook it and here instead we tell you five reasons so help us feel good.

It is anti-inflammatory

20510 There borage is rich in beneficial fats for the organism. The seeds, in fact, as the doctor specifies Nadia Fiorentino, nutritionist biologist in Naples, "they contain high quantities of essential fatty acids (omega 6 and omega 3), which seem to have a positive effect on inflammation and on the balance of the immune system".
In the form of herbal tea, it is often used to relieve inflammatory pathologies such as sore throat.

Useful for disorders related to the menstrual cycle

There borage also contains of phytoestrogens and for this reason, in addition to its anti-inflammatory action, it is useful for disorders related to the menstrual cycle. Near the cycle, it is easy to feel exhausted and in a bad mood, irritable and sad, presumably because the hormonal balance is altered in our body.

There borage helps in case of pain syndromes related to the menstrual cycle (such as chamomile for example). As Dr. Fiorentino tells "Borage oil, in particular, seems to be supportive, for its anti-inflammatory action, for female cycle disorders characterized by pain (dysmenorrhea) also in association with feverfew, another anti-inflammatory plant".

It helps in case of skin problems and dermatitis

This plant also has properties beneficial on the skin thanks to the high content of substances antioxidants and thanks to the anti-inflammatory action. L'borage oil, cold extracted, regulates the production of sebum e normalizes the skin, both in case of dryness and, conversely, in case of oily skin. “It also proves to be a valuable aid in case of dermatitis, in association for example with burdock".

Benefits for the intestine

The presence of mucillagini, in borage (like Malva) makes it a valid remedy in case of constipation and intestinal inflammation problems.

Rich in vitamins and minerals

There borage it is healthy because it contains vitamins and minerals.
It is a source of vitamin C, with an antioxidant and beneficial effect for the immune system; of vitamin A and manganese, as well as of group B vitamins, which modulate the metabolism.
In addition there are folate, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium (essential for the health of bones and teeth), potassium, iron and copper, important for the production of red blood cells.

Situations where it is contraindicated

In general, borage is contraindicated in case of pregnancy and breastfeeding, but also
in case of liver disease, surgery and for children.

Borage in the kitchen

But the borage it is also widely used in the kitchen, particularly in the Ligurian tradition, such as stuffed with pansotti, quadrucci and the well-known Easter cake. Often it is also used for the preparation of the dough lasagna. It is also used only boiled in a little water and seasoned with oil, both for the preparation of soups or soups.

Here is a recipe by chef Gennaro Esposito of the Torre del Saracino restaurant in Vico Equense (NA) to experience it in the kitchen

SCAMPI SOUP WITH CHICORY AND BORAGGINI RAVIOLI

Ingredients for 4 people

500 gr of fresh prawns
300 cl of vegetable broth
300 gr of chicory
250 cl of extra virgin olive oil  200 gr of borage
50 gr of chopped celery, carrots and onions
2 sprigs of wild fennel
a few sprigs of aromatic herbs (thyme, rosemary, fresh oregano, tarragon)
1kg "00" flour
16 egg yolks
1 pinch of salt

Prepare the ravioli filling.
Shell the prawns and toast the heads in the oven for about 2 hours at 110 °, transferring them to a fairly high pan, adding the chopped celery, carrots and onions to a ladle of oil. Brown for a few minutes, adding the broth and cook for a few minutes without ever boiling everything. With the help of a mortar, crush the heads, pass through a passage and keep the so obtained stew aside.
Clean, wash and boil wild vegetables. Separately, brown the finely chopped vegetables in a pan with 100 g of oil, garlic and wild fennel for a few seconds and leave to cool.

For the ravioli pasta join in a planetary mixer the kilo of flour, the egg yolks and a pinch of salt. Work the ingredients until a homogeneous mixture is obtained, leaving to rest for 1 hour. Roll the egg pasta into 2 sheets of equal size 1 mm thin with a rolling pin or with the help of the special machine, then arrange many small quantities of stuffing on the pasta 4 to 5 centimeters apart. Brush the empty spaces around the filling with a few drops of water, cover the pastry with the other by pressing with your fingers so that they adhere and preventing air bubbles from forming inside the ravioli.

In a saucepan with plenty of salted water, cook the ravioli.
In a pan, add the rest of the oil and brown the flaky herbs. Add a ladle of vegetable broth and add the previously drained ravioli, mixing for a few seconds.
In the meantime, sear the prawns in a pan with a little oil and over high heat.
Compose the dish by veiling the dish with the scampi soup, add the ravioli and garnish with the scampi.

Elisa Nata
April 2018
updated in March 2020
by Barbara Roncarolo

DISCOVER THE SALT & PEPPER COOKING COURSES

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Couscous with lentils, borage and nettles – Italian Cuisine

Couscous with lentils, borage and nettles is a tasty and fragrant lemon-flavored vegetarian dish, very easy and quick to make. Borage and nettle are two v …

Couscous with lentils, borage and nettles is a tasty and fragrant lemon-flavored vegetarian dish, very easy and quick to make. Borage and nettle are two spontaneous vegetables that, besides being healthy for our well-being, are also tasty!

Nature offers us precious resources, which we often do not know, to prepare unusual but tasty, nutritious and healthy recipes. Among the endless edible wild herbs, nettles and borage are among the best known in the kitchen and give us rustic, unique and unparalleled flavors. The Couscous with lentils, borage and salt & pepper nettles it is a proof! It is a simple and inexpensive dish of great choreographic effect, thanks to the beautiful purple flowers of borage that stand out on the plate.

The couscous with lentils, borage and nettles it has strong but well balanced flavors, the delicate but pungent one of nettle contrasts with the more bitter one of borage, all tasteless with a grating of lemon peel

Like all recipes with many vegetables, even for the couscous with lentils, borage and nettles you have to waste some time to clean them and cut the vegetables but then the cooking will be fast and the taste so delicious that it will reward you for the effort and time spent in the kitchen!

The couscous with lentils, borage and salt & pepper nettles it is a hymn to spring and the scents of the Mediterranean: a special dish that you cannot miss and your vegan friends will surprise you at the table!

How to prepare couscous with lentils, borage and nettles

1) Prepare the ingredients. Cook the quick-cooking couscous as indicated on the package. When the grains are well swollen, grind the couscous with a fork and keep aside and let it cool. Set aside the flower tops of the borage to add the fresh flowers directly to the plate when it is ready.

3) Lava nettles is borage, cut them into small pieces and make them jump cooking pan With the'pink garlic crushed and 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for 5-6 minutes, adding some water if necessary. Join the small lentils (or of Castelluccio) boil, rule of salt and of pepper and let it flavor for a few moments. Remove the garlic, remove the vegetables from the heat and keep them aside.

2) Complete and serve couscous with lentils. In another fairly large non-stick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Then pour the couscous, Mix 1 minute and then add the herbs with the lentils. Leave to flavor for 2 minutes then serve the couscous with lentils, borage and nettles warm or warm, garnishing it with a drizzle of raw oil, with borage flowers and with untreated lemon peel julienne cut.

Tips

1) Borage is not stinging like nettle, but it is still annoying to handle it without gloves because it is covered everywhere with a thorny hair. Salt and pepper therefore, you are advised to use rubber kitchen gloves at every stage of processing both herbs, harvesting, washing, cleaning and cutting. Then, locate your herbs and collect a nice envelope of each. Isolate the leaves from the stems, wash them well and then dry them using a salad centrifuge.

2) For the couscous with lentils, borage and nettles, Salt & Pepper preferred to use small lentils already boiled. Nothing, however, forbids you to use for example half classic and half red lentils, or use only one type of the latter. If you use both, less lexical, the red ones take a lot less than the others.

3) For cooking vegetables, remember to use one large pan because at the beginning the herbs will be very voluminous, then they will wither slowly with cooking.

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Crepe recipe with potatoes and borage – Italian Cuisine

Ingredients For crepes

250 g milk
100 g flour
15 g butter
2 pcs eggs
salt

Ingredients For the filling and seasoning

1 Kg potatoes
700 g borage
150 g milk
25 g butter
3 pcs spring onions
Grana Padano Dop
cornstarch
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Duration: 1 h 30 min

Level: Middle

Dose: 8 people

For the recipe of pancakes with potatoes and borage, boil the potatoes, peel them, cut them into pieces and mash them. Peel the borage and blanch it in boiling salted water for 1 minute. Drain it, cool it in ice water, lightly squeeze it and blend it with 70 g of oil; set aside 3-4 tablespoons; mix the rest with the mashed potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Mix the flour with the milk, pouring it a little at a time; use a whisk to avoid lumps. Also incorporate the eggs and a pinch of salt, continuing to stir until you get a fluid and homogeneous mixture. Melt the butter and mix it with the mixture. Spread 1 ladle of mixture in a non-stick pan greased with a thin layer of butter and cook for about 1 minute and 30 seconds; turn the pancake and cook for another minute. Proceed like this until you get 8 crepes. Spread the filling on the crepes; cut them in half and roll them into cones.
FOR THE SEASONING: Clean the onions, cut them into slices and let them dry in melted butter for 3-4 minutes. Add the milk, cook again for 7-8 minutes, then add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, stir for 2 minutes, then whisk. Put the crepes in a baking pan lined with baking paper; season with oil and grated parmesan and cook in the oven at 190 ° C for about 10 minutes. Serve the crepes with the spring onion sauce and the borage sauce kept aside.