{"id":36266,"date":"2026-06-23T15:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T13:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naturetravellab.com\/?p=36266"},"modified":"2026-07-20T20:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:05:15","slug":"intragna-eating-what-grows-and-weeds-that-take-over-the-walls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturetravellab.com\/en\/switzerland\/ticino\/intragna-eating-what-grows-and-weeds-that-take-over-the-walls\/","title":{"rendered":"Intragna: Eating What Grows and Weeds That Take Over the Walls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Intragna: The Weeds on Your Plate and on the Wall<\/h1>\n\n

The train to Intragna is no ordinary train. It climbs and winds its way through the Centovalli, the \u201cvalley of a hundred valleys,\u201d until you get off in a village that seems to be glued to the mountainside. I\u2019m in southern Switzerland, in Ticino<\/a><\/strong>. This is where Milo Bissegger lives. And when you dine with him, you don\u2019t eat what the menu dictates, but whatever the season and the mountainside have to offer that morning. <\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s one of those experiences I won\u2019t soon forget: a gourmet chef who takes you out into the field, teaches you to look at what most people call weeds, and then serves them up on your plate. As it happens, his aunt became world-famous for that very same weed\u2014but growing meters high on a wall. <\/p>\n\n

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\"Milo<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Intragna<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Intragna<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

A gastronome by training, a botanist by passion<\/h2>\n\n

Milo Bissegger grew up in the Centovalli, surrounded by nature. After high school, he graduated from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo\u2014the university that emerged from the international Slow Food<\/strong><\/a>movement. His thesis focused on the \u201cintelligence\u201d and sensitivity of plants, and what that means for the kitchen. <\/p>\n\n

In 2018, he also earned a field botany certificate from the Swiss Botanical Society. Since then, he has devoted himself to\u201cerbe spontanee<\/em>\u201d: edible wild plants and flowers. His guiding principle is the Slow Food credo: buono, pulito e giusto<\/em>\u2014good, clean, and fair. Biodiversity, seasonality, and knowledge of his own region are central to his work. <\/p>\n\n

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\"Milo<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Intragna<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Intragna<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

A Wild Lunch: Eating What Grows<\/h2>\n\n

What Milo does can best be described as a walk that ends on your plate. During the course or field trip, you\u2019ll first learn to identify the plants\u2014which ones are edible, which ones are best left alone, and what they taste like. Then you\u2019ll taste them as the main ingredient of the meal. What\u2019s served depends on the season. <\/p>\n\n

I\u2019m learning about the Coca-Cola plant, which came from Asia after 1492, about *Chenopodium album* (lamb\u2019s quarters in Dutch), a weed similar to wild spinach, how to make a vitamin-rich salad with dandelion leaves, and that stinging nettles contain more protein than soy. <\/p>\n\n

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