"Eating salad as a first course is one of the many gifts I received from living in Northern California. But Misticanza di Firenze is more than a green salad. The idea is to combine as many seasonal greens and herbs as possible so each bite offers a different blend of greens. In Firenze, depending on the time of year, misticanza can have as many as sixteen varieties of greens, such as arugula, basil, borage, celery leaves, chicory, dandelion, chard, escarole, mache, romaine, chives, kale, spinach, fennel parsley, lovage, mint, watercress and small turnip, beet, and radish tops. For a first course, use about 2 loosely packed cups per person—or more to your liking."
-Rolando Beramendi in AUTENTICO: Cooking Italian, the Authentic Way
Photo by Laurie Frankel