Borage has been used by the ancient Greeks to treat a hangover, according to the Celts it gave courage to the warriors. Borage was named Euphrosinum by Plinio “because it makes the man elated, happy and satisfied” he said. The Romans considered it a miracle cure against sadness and moodiness. It was recommended also by Parkinson to ward off bad thoughts and melancholy. We don’t know if a decoction is enough to awaken the vital spirits and strengthen the will to live (is not scientifically proven), but for sure, the borage is one of the best herbs that delight the palate and stomach. And as we know, when the belly is happy, everything works better!

My belly after today lunch was pretty full as well as happy! Other than the Lenten fast! This morning I took 4 branches of borage that is crop up for a while in my garden. I put them in glass, and around the lunch time I improvised a risotto made from flowers, tender leaves and the dormant mushrooms collected last Saturday by Dad. At the end the recipe came out pretty good, finally with the larger leaves I made a side dish of pancakes simply divine.

Recipe: Risotto
Cooking: Italian
Yield: 4 serving
• 320 g of rice
• 200 g of mushrooms
• 2 handfuls of borage leaves
• 1 fresh onion
• 1 orange
• chives
• Parmigiano Reggiano
• 80 g of butter
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• vegetable broth qs
• extra virgin olive oil (the Italian one)
• salt

Prepare the broth in a pot , wash the leaves of your borage, keep its flowers aside (use a container filled with water to not do them wither). Clean the mushrooms and cut into medium-sized pieces.

In a pan, prepare a sauce with garlic, olive oil and pepper and let cook almost completely mushrooms which add a pinch of salt.

In a pot or in a large skillet, chop the onion and sauté in butter. Add the rice, toast it and then blend it with the white wine. Add borage and then a portion of the broth to cover everything. Gradually add the remaining broth, stirring constantly, until the rice is cooked. No need to add salt: the broth and the Parmesan make salted the rice enough. Meanwhile grate the orange peel and set aside.

Shortly before the end of cooking, add part of the flowers, mushrooms and a bit of chives. Before serving, stir in the Parmiggiano.

To serve, the ideal would be to use a pastry cutter of the UN, but at my home wait only the time to let me take a picture of the dish and then start eating. Anyway decorate the dish with parmigiano, orange rind, flowers and a couple of chives.