Greek Horta-Style Scamander with Olive Oil, Lemon & Feta
Aeroveg Scamander blanched and dressed in the Greek horta tradition — cold-pressed olive oil, fresh lemon, sea salt, and crumbled feta. Simple, clean, and ready in 15 minutes.
Horta — blanched wild greens dressed with nothing more than olive oil and lemon — is one of the most quietly perfect things in Greek cooking. It relies entirely on the quality of the green, and Aeroveg Scamander is built for it: mild, lightly grassy, and tender enough to blanch in under two minutes. The feta brings salt and fat; the lemon cuts through. That's all this dish needs.
Method
- Blanch. Bring a pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add Aeroveg Scamander and blanch for 1–2 minutes until just tender. It should yield to the bite but still hold its shape — don't overcook it.
- Shock and drain. Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and preserve the colour. After 1 minute, drain and gently press out excess moisture with your hands.
- Dress. Arrange the drained Scamander on a serving plate. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season with flaky sea salt.
- Finish. Crumble feta over the top. Scatter Kalamata olives if using.
- Rest and serve. Let the plate sit for 2–3 minutes at room temperature — Greeks rarely eat horta straight from the pot. The brief rest lets the oil and lemon soak into the leaves. Serve with warm crusty bread.
Greek cooks judge a good horta by how little you need to add. Aeroveg Scamander earns that restraint — its mild grassiness is a clean canvas for high-quality olive oil. Blanch it to just-tender and no further: 90 seconds in boiling water is usually enough to soften it without losing its colour or quiet personality.