Wild asparagus

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Posted: 17.03.2017

Asparagus is one of the most appreciated wild plant varieties growing in Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia. They are the sign of the spring and can be picked from mid-March to late April - an excellent activity since you spend a time outside, in the nature, breathing fresh air and walking.

As a tourist, you can join local people and go on the fields and forests in search of wild asparagus, known in Croatian as „šparoge“. Since it grows in less accessible places, often protected by thorny bushes, its picking requires eye of a hawk and iron will.  Asparagus are growing into a small bush and it’s easier to spot it than wild asparagus themselves. But once you see the spiny plant, all you need to do is to look carefully for the asparagus!

Or simply enjoy in specialties that many local restaurants and taverns are offering and try delicacies made from wild asparagus, ranging from the  "fritaja" (omelet), soups, homemade pastas and risottos to ingenious combinations with meat and fish.  Wild asparagus found in forests have an intense and bitter aroma and are laden with minerals and vitamins, which are good grounds for a healthy spring menu.

 It is a food, medicine and an aphrodisiac all in one! The asparagus-hunting season has just begun. Welcome!