Stevie cu ceapa

"Patience dock with onions"

There are still patience dock leaves available at the market, although I think it’s getting to the end of their season. Soon they’ll be getting a bit thick and tough for eating. This is the first year that I’ve tried eating them, mostly because in previous years I haven’t bought them because I didn’t really know what they were, which is one of the good things about keeping this blog – it’s encouraged me to try new local ingredients. ‘Stevie’ is becoming one of my favourite spring leaves, along with the ‘leurda’ wild garlic leaves. This time I made it with a little onion and a spoonful of sour cream, and too be honest, this was the tastiest yet simplest version I’ve had. If you can grow a few patience docks in the corner of the garden I recommend you do. I’m sure they’re packed with goodness too!

Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

3-4 bunches of patience dock leaves (about 20-30 leaves)

A little oil (olive or vegetable)

An onion

Salt and pepper

Lemon wedges for squeezing

1-2 tablespoons of sour cream (smantana)

Method:

1. Trim the stalks off the stevie leaves and discard any heavily wilted, holey, or chewed leaves.

2. Bring a pot of salty cold water to the boil and blanch the leaves for about 3 minutes.

3. Drain the leaves and chop them up.

4. Meanwhile, finely chop and onion and sauté it until soft in a pan with a few glugs of oil (about 5 minutes).

5. Once the onion has softened, add the chopped dock leaves and cook, stirring from time to time, for about 5-7 minutes.

6. To add a little richness you can add a tablespoon or two of smantana (sour cream) or heavy cream. It also goes well the small cubes of white cheese, boiled eggs, poached eggs, or even a chopped up omelette. A squeeze of lemon helps at a little acidity to the dish and works really well.