Best La Vignarola Roman Style Spring Vegetable Stew Recipes
LA VIGNAROLA
Not so many springtimes ago, I knew it was a Roman birthday for which I yearned, convinced that the salve of the place would soften the edges of a long sadness. Arriving crumpled and unslept on that morning, I slid my two dusty bags under the purple flounce of the bed in my genteelly shabby room at the Adriano and bolted off to the Campo de' Fiori. I needed lilacs. I explained to the flower merchant in the market my desire to bring più allegria-more cheerfulness-to my little hotel room, that I was preparing for a sort of birthday party. He amplified the girth of the sweet-smelling sheaves I'd chosen and dispatched his helper to carry the towering bouquets through the twisting streets back to the Adriano. His field of vision completely contained inside thickets of blossoms, the porter left me to play front guard, to scream commands and admonitions back at him, staging a droll farce that could happen only in Rome. Safe inside the hotel with the lilacs, I purloined a large metal wastebasket from the reception hall, tied up its middle in a length of green silk, and installed the great, weeping blooms at the foot of my bed. I raced back to the market to fill two baskets with tiny, blushed velvet peaches still on their branches and hung them from wall sconces and draped them over mirrors and bedposts and on the roof of the dour, mustard-colored armoire. I collected breads from the forno (bakery) in Via della Scrofa, not so much to eat but for the comfort of their forms and their scents. I unwrapped the Georgian candlesticks I always carry with me from their cradle in my old taffeta skirt, threw open the shutters to beams of a rosy moon, and the birthday room was ready. I'd collected a beautiful supper at Volpetti: a brace of quail, each reposing on a cushion of roasted bread-depository for their rosemary juices-olives crushed into a paste with capers and Cognac, a stew of baby artichokes, new peas, and fava beans scented with wild mint and called, mysteriously, la vignarola-the winemaker's wife-and a small, white, quivering cylinder of sweet robiola (fresh handmade cow's milk cheese). I laid the feast on the dressing table, serving myself only bits of it at first. But little explosions of goodness insinuated themselves, and the quiet supper urged me into the goodness of the moment. Hungers found, strategies resewn. Happy birthday. During the time I lived at the Adriano, I went each morning to the market in Campo de' Fiori, stopping to chat with my flower man, he introducing me to the lady with the slenderest, most delicate asparagus, which I devoured raw, like some earth-scented bonbon, and the one with the baby blood-red strawberries collected in the forests of Lake Nemi up in the Alban Hills. A ration of these beauties I vanquished each afternoon between sips of icy Frascati from my changing caffè posts along the campo. With those weeks as initiation, I might have stayed the rest of my life in the lap of that neighborhood, that village within Rome so contained and complete unto itself, and surely would never have known a single lonely day. More than she is a city, Rome is a string of small provinces, fastened one to the other by old fates.
Yield serves 6
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- In a large sauté pan over a medium flame, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and brown the pancetta for several minutes. Soften the onion until transparent in the fat, taking care not to color it. Add the peas and the wine, bringing the combination to a simmer. Cover the pot, its lid askew, and gently simmer the peas for 20 minutes or less, until barely tender. Remove the fava beans from their pods and cook in boiling sea-salted water for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are nearly tender, rather like the al dente stage in cooking pasta. Set aside.
- Blanch the artichokes in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. If they are of the purple-lipped variety and no larger than a small plum, leave them whole, barely trimming their tender petals and scraping at their stems a bit. If they are somewhat larger, give the stems a scrape or two and slice them in half, lengthwise, removing any signs of a more than embryonic choke.
- In another sauté pan, over a lively flame, warm 1/3 cup of olive oil and sauté the artichokes, salting them generously, adding freshly cracked pepper and tossing them about for several minutes or until they are nearly tender. Transfer the artichokes and their accumulated juices to the sauté pan with the peas and pancetta, sautéing the mixture for 2 or 3 minutes just to finish cooking the artichokes.
- In a small saucepan, warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil with the lemon zest and the garlic, taking care not to color the garlic. Set the scented oil aside.
- Add the blanched favas and the mint leaves to the sauté pan, gently heating the components together and taking care not to let them reach a simmer.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon/garlic-scented oil, and serve la vignarola as an antipasto or a first course, warm or at room temperature, with oven-toasted bread and cold white wine.
VIGNAROLA
Provided by Elaine Louie
Categories dinner, lunch
Time 35m
Yield 2 servings
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- In a medium saucepan, combine olive oil and 1/2 cup white wine. Place over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Add onion and artichokes, and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add asparagus, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add fresh or frozen peas, and simmer for 2 more minutes. Add scallions, and simmer for 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The sauce should be the consistency of heavy cream; if necessary, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of wine and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Divide the vegetables and the oil and wine sauce among two serving bowls. Garnish with shavings of Pecorino Romano and a twist of black pepper.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 721, UnsaturatedFat 45 grams, Carbohydrate 45 grams, Fat 55 grams, Fiber 20 grams, Protein 13 grams, SaturatedFat 8 grams, Sodium 1309 milligrams, Sugar 8 grams
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