Greek style greenbriar with tomatoes, potatoes and lemon (lathera)

Greenbriar. I know, I said it was an early to mid-spring forage, since you only want to eat the tender new growth. 

Here's the thing, if you cut it back, it will continue to put out new growth throughout the spring and even into the dog days of summer, where in Texas the heat gets over 105. Which is great because not a whole lot else grows in these conditions. 

Best of all, I don't even have to be the one to cut it back, the city of Plano does it for me. Since greenbriar (Smilax species) are troublesome, weedy vines that grow like wildfire and have thorns, the local cities and towns cut them back from parks and trails all season long, creating new growth every couple of weeks. 

Now, in the spring when this stuff is growing in its natural season, I can usually pull 2 backpacks full out of local nature preserves every week. This growth is a lot less abundant, since it only comes from where the plants have been cut. Still its a nice meal's worth every month or so, when little else is growing. And anyway, greenbriar is one of my favorite foods to forage, I find it very versatile. 

Once blanched, I find that the flavor of greenbriar most closely resembles fresh, young green beans. I don't really like to eat it without first blanching, as it has an unpleasant, sour "swamp water" taste that I don't enjoy. For this reason I've never been able to roast it to my satisfaction. In any other way, I will prepare it as I prepare green beans, though for whatever reason my mind leans heavily towards mediterranean flavors for greenbriar. 

Today's dish is a foraged take on Lathera, a healthy vegan casserole (vegetarian if you add feta cheese) of tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, onion, lemon, fresh herbs and lots of garlic. It comes together very quickly, and all in one pot for easy clean-up. Served with rice, couscous, quinoa, pita or crusty bread it can be a main course,  and you can add meat if you like (I like it with ground turkey), though I've chosen not to here. You could also use it as a side for a meat main. 

Traditionally, this dish should be swimming in olive oil, but if you are trying to cut back on fats it tastes great with significantly less. I've chosen to substitute most of the olive oil for stock instead. 

Greek style greenbriar lathera

Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as a side dish

3 cups chopped greenbriar

3 cups potatoes chopped into bite-sized pieces

4 cups tomatoes chopped into bite-sized pieces, or mini tomatoes

1 cup of diced onion

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1/2 cup of roughly chopped parsley

1/2 cup of vegetarian broth or stock*

1/2 cup of kalamata olives, optional

Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sugar, optional

Feta cheese, quinoa, couscous, rice or pita bread for serving, optional

1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and add in chopped potatoes. Boil until you can just stick a fork into them. Add in the greenbriar and blanch for a 30 seconds to a minute. Drain and run over with cold water to stop the cooking process. 
2. Add olive oil to a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add in the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant. 
3. Add in the tomatoes, olives, stock/broth, and the lemon juice and zest and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste-test. If it's too acidic, you may want to add some sugar--I didn't think mine needed it. If needed, add salt and black pepper. 
4. Stir in the parsley, then add in the greenbriar and potatoes. Reduce to a low simmer. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until potatoes are fully cooked. 
5. Optional: sprinkle with feta cheese, and serve with quinoa, couscous, rice or bread. 

* I used my favorite "Better than Bouillon" for my stock. I chose the roasted garlic flavor. If you use a homemade stock, you might need to add extra salt to the dish.