IngredientsSpices
Borretschborage
Borago officinalis. Stems and leaves are covered in stiff hairs, and the flower is a blue star.
The taste is the point: fresh and green, like peeled cucumber. It is one of the seven herbs in Frankfurt's Grüne Soße and it also goes into herb quark and cucumber salad.
In Mexikoin Mexico
It is called borraja and fresh bunches are hard to find.
Growing it is easy: seed on Mercado Libre, it germinates fast and then self-seeds. The flowers are edible and look good on a salad.
Ersatzwhat to use
At a pinch, grate a peeled cucumber finely and drain it. That gets the direction right, because the cucumber note is the main thing about borage.
What is missing is the faintly salty pull of the leaf. A little more salt in the sauce covers that roughly.
Vorsichtcareful
The leaves are rough and prickle on the tongue once they are past young. Use soft young leaves only and chop them fine.
Cut coarse, the bristles stay in your mouth however good the sauce is.