Vignarola with Asparagus and Romanesco Zucchini, a side dish with a typically spring flavor (precisely for this reason, I also add asparagus and zucchini to the original recipe), which pairs delightfully with any type of meat. I also enjoy it as a main dish, paired with slices of toasted seeded bread. The cooking time I have proposed ensures the vegetables remain crunchy, so if you want them more tender, give them a few more minutes. The preparation and procedure require a bit of attention, but nothing too difficult, just a little patience in preparing vegetables and legumes. It’s true that it can also be made with frozen ingredients, but since we are in the middle of the season, let’s use fresh ones.
If you like cooked vegetables, then don’t miss the next recipes:
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4/6 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring
Ingredients
- 3 Roman artichokes (mammole)
- 7 oz shelled fava beans
- 5 oz shelled peas
- 3.5 oz romaine lettuce
- 7 oz cleaned asparagus (optional)
- 7 oz romanesco zucchini (optional)
- 3.5 oz guanciale
- 1 large fresh spring onion
- 1 bunch mint
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt and pepper
Tools
- 1 Pan non-stick
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife for vegetables
Preparation
Let’s prepare the ingredients so that our work is easier, since the recipe does not require particular cooking skills, just a series of steps. We start by cleaning, washing, and drying the vegetables and also dealing with the legumes, which need to be removed from their pods. Once done, preparing this dish will surely be very easy.
Slice the guanciale into strips, slice the onion with the artichokes, and dice the romanesco zucchini, including the flowers.
Chop the asparagus and lettuce crosswise. Pour the oil into a non-stick pan and sauté the onion with the guanciale.
Before the base browns too much, add the artichokes and after about 3 minutes, the fava beans and peas. Cook for 4/5 minutes and then add the romanesco zucchini.
Immediately after, add the asparagus and after 3 minutes the romaine lettuce with the mint leaves. Salt and pepper to taste and continue cooking for at least 10 minutes.
Serve our Vignarola with Asparagus and Romanesco Zucchini, hot or at room temperature, because in both cases it will be delicious.
Tips
The vignarola keeps in the refrigerator for two or three days, but let’s store it in a glass or ceramic airtight container.
Avoid plastic, as it continuously releases toxic substances.
