As every year when winter arrives and the cold begins to intensify, the Sorian village of Ágreda is ready with its most iconic crop: the red cardo. A unique product with a lot of star power, which many imitators have tried in vain to replicate, and which is harvested with expertise and skill in the so-called Huertas Árabes (Arab Gardens) of Ágreda.
These gardens are cultivated areas that Andalusian farmers terraced in the Middle Ages to facilitate more efficient irrigation, and they have remained productive with their irrigation canals in operation ever since. In them, this gourmet variety of cardo (thistle) is grown, which is shielded from the intense cold of the area by earth pyramids over a meter and a half tall. These pyramids, which serve as a shelter, the absence of light, the soil with its iron-rich characteristics, and the water from the spring that supplies the irrigation canals—also known as Fuente Árabe (Arab Spring), by the way—combine to give this precious thistle its reddish color and the unique flavor that makes it so special.
Although it can be found in select stores in Madrid and Zaragoza, nothing beats going to Soria and Ágreda to enjoy it in its place of origin and with its best recipe: the red cardo salad. And, in the process, also discover the rich Andalusian legacy of Ágreda and other magical places in Soria.