Wild Asparagus with Eggs

February 1982, Kofinou. I’m sitting with my father on the veranda of our family restaurant. My mother is in the kitchen cooking, while my father tells me stories about his village, Agios Ambrosios. He describes moments, images, and incidents, and I travel with him in my mind. The starting point of his memories is the village church, and from there he traces in detail the route to his house as if he’s drawing his own map with his hand on the table.“If I don’t make it back one day, my daughter, you must know how to find our home,” he says, taking a sip of zivania. That’s when my mother appears with a big frying pan in hand, serving us fresh agrelia (wild asparagus) with eggs. My father adores agrelia, he says they’re the perfect meze to go with zivania. He even pours a little into my glass. My mother scolds him, but he replies, “It’s just for us to say eviva (cheers),” and winks at me with a conspiratorial smile. That smile... I’ll never forget it. And every time I make this recipe, I cook it with his smile on my lips…

Ingredients

• 2 bunch bunches of agrelia (wild asparagus)
• ⅓ cup (85 ml) olive oil
• 6 medium eggs
• 1 tsp (8 g) salt
• A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into 4–6 wedges, for serving

Method

1. Rinse the agrelia and snap them into 3–4 cm pieces, starting from their tips. You’ll have about 500 g of chopped agrelia.
2. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the agrelia for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with half the salt.
3. In a bowl, beat the eggs and pour them over the agrelia. Add the remaining salt and black pepper, and stir gently until the eggs are cooked. If you prefer, you can cook it as an omelet. Serve with lemon wedges.

💡Tips & Notes

A NOTE FROM CYPRUS GASTRONOMY: In Cyprus, agrelia refers to wild asparagus, known for their delightful bitterness. In some mountainous areas, you may also find black agrelia, which are rare and even more delicious.