STRIDOLO (bladder campion) is a bushy annual plant with bright-green oval leaves measuring up to 8 centimeters and bulbous flowers. It is a much appreciated and common plant in all Romagna, and its Italian name “Stridoli” recalls the streech of its leaves.
This plant spontaneously grows in the meadows and by the roadsides, near watercourses and on the hills. It flourishes from spring to late summer, from May to October.
You can eat its tender sprouts raw in a salad or cooked as if it were spinach and used in soups, omelets. risottos, pasta dishes or in the filling for the ravioli. You can also use it to prepare sauces, stews and meatballs.
Stridoli contain high levels of vitamin C, mineral salts and phenols. They are thus used as a medicinal herb for the preparation of solutions to treat eye infections.
