Cooking with Aegean herbs in Urla

Aegean cooking relies on wild greens and herbs, collected in the fields and hillsides. In Urla and the surrounding villages, many families still pick them every spring and autumn.

The workshop starts in a garden on the edge of Urla, where a local cook shows the group which herbs and greens grow there and how they are used. Back in an open-air kitchen, teams prepare a menu of olive-oil dishes, such as herb pastries, artichokes, stuffed courgette flowers in season and a herb salad, along with fresh bread.

The group then sits down together at a long garden table to share the meal. Recipes are sent by email afterwards. Vegetarian and vegan versions are easy, as most Aegean herb dishes are plant-based.