La Vignarola Recipe
A Roman recipe as good as spring itself.
The quintessence of peak spring in Rome, vignarola is hearty, bright, crunchy and comforting.
Italian cuisine through the country takes its cues from seasonal produce, but when it comes to variety, there’s no place like Rome. Repeat that three time, click your heels together, and order the best salad you’ve ever had.
Sunny central Italy, especially the Lazio region enjoys multitudes of microclimates, a central spine of mountains to mitigate high winds, warm sea breezes, and rich, variegated volcanic soils.
All of this (and a little magic, if you ask me) adds up to a bounty of produce, and local varieties of just about anything.
Roman broccoli: check. Roman artichokes: check. Infinite Fruits and vegetables named for the nearby towns from which they hail. You haven’t had a strawberry until you’ve had one from Terracina. Or wild baby strawberry from Nepi.
Country Kitchen
Before and during the Roman Imperial times, agriculture thrived in the sunbaked slopes surround the city. The Castelli Romani, the hill towns to the southeast, have been producing wine for thousands of years.
Farmers lived off the land and still do in many places. Eating in season not only makes sense, it tastes better. La Vignarola is a perfect example of taking exactly what’s ripe, right now, and putting it together into something nutritious and nutritious.
Vignarola: What’s in a name?
Vignarola comes from vignaroli, which refers to the farmworkers, specifically those working the vineyards.
In the grand tradition of many dishes originating in Lazio, the region surrounding Rome, la vignarola is a staple of la cucina povera, “peasant cuisine.” It likely originated as a way to maximize the seasonal harvest and feed as many people as possible. It’s hearty, healthy, and versatile.
La vignarola is decidedly a country dish, but the best I’ve had in the city came from Enofficina (review coming soon!).
The cozy, corner wine bar and restaurant is located in Prati, a short walk from the Vatican, and one of my old hoods. Now that I’ve discovered the place, I’d happily move back.
It’s the kind of establishment that makes you want to live close by so you can call it your place.
It happens to me in Rome, and when I travel, that desire to have another life, to live across the street from a wine bar that feels like home.
As Tom Wingo muses in the final scene of Prince of Tides, ““I wish again that there were two lives apportioned to every man - and every woman.”
I wish there were a thousand.
Strictly Seasonal
Unless you’re grocery shopping a the supermarket, vignarola is a limited edition. The ingredients signal the height of spring, and they show up at local produce stands in April and May only.
Enofficina gets all their produce direct from a biodynamic farm near the Lazio coastline. This not only accounts for flavor, but also influences their menu. Hence… la vignarola I had last week, and also last night, and loved so much I learned to make it.
Valerio Capriotti, is Enofficina’s homegrown Roman at the helm. He was kind enough to chat vignarola with me over a plate of it, naturally, and even share the recipe.
“Quando vedi la vignarola, vedi la primavera.” When you see vignarola, you see spring.
Valerio remembers his grandmother rolling out the recipes after the frosts ended. The first sign of spring was rice with nettle or endive, as soon as they shot up in the garden.
Once the days got longer and warmer, the fava beans, peas, artichokes, and wild asparagus make their debut. As Valerio says, “Quando vedi la vignarola, vedi la primavera.” When you see vignarola, you see spring.
“L’Eno-Vignarola” The Official Recipe
The recipe has evolved over centuries, and every household has their own variation. Vignarola originates as vegetarian, but in Roman fashion, a healthy garnish of crispy guanciale (cured pork cheek) brings savory dimension.
The key, according to Valerio is not to overcook anything. Vignarola may be hearty, but its crunchy, green quality, uplifted with fresh herbs is what distinguishes the dish as the epitome of spring.
Ingredients
Serves 2-4
500 grams fresh fava beans (about 200-250 grams shelled)
500 grams fresh sugar snap peas (200-250 grams shelled)
200 grams asparagus spears (wild if possible)
400 grams artichokes, cleaned with the outer leaves and stem removed. Ideal Roman varieties are mammole, campagnano, and castellammare. *Soak them in lemon water to prevent browning.
*OPTIONAL 3 cups chopped local lettuce
1 small sweet white onion. Alternatively, 2 spring onions.
1 dried hot red peperoncino to taste.
Black pepper to taste
Aromatic herbs: basil, sage, rosemary, parsley, mentuccia (wile Roman mint) + plus extra to garnish. *Use in moderation. The star players are the vegetables.
1 cup dry white wine
Olive oil as needed
They use the water from the cooking veggies. If you need
*OPTIONAL vegetable broth as needed
*Optional 1/2 cup guanciale
Procedure
Shell the fava and peas. Finely slice the artichokes. Chop the asparagus into bite-size pieces. Chop lettuce if you’re using it.
Heat olive oil and add chopped onion. Once the onions are golden brown, add the artichokes, as they take the longest to soften.
After 3-5 minutes, add the other ingredients and sprinkle with salt.
Cover and stir occasionally for another 3-5 minutes. Add the wine and turn up heat until it cooks off. Lower the temperature and cover again.
The vegetables should naturally produce their own broth. I
f needed, add vegetable broth and keep simmering and stirring. Add small quantities of aromatic herbs and salt and pepper to taste.
Vignarola should be al dente when stabbed with a fork. For more a minestrone style, add broth and cook longer.
For a carnivorous twist, slice the guanciale into quarter-inch strips and fry in their own fat. Drain on a paper towel and add top each serving.
Garnish in mentuccia, basil or parsley.
Wine Pairing Vignarola
What grows together goes together. Vignarola grew up on farms and wineries. A local Lazio white wine is the perfect pairings.
Frascati Superiore blends of local varieties combine big aromas of ripe peach, apricot, rose, and broom flower with a dry, mineral finish.
Valerio and I both love De Sanctis winery. Their 496 is a great place to start. For a fuller-boded Frascati, try their barrel-aged Amacos.
Varieties on a Vignarola Theme
Vignarola can be enjoyed as a standalone dish, a soup, or even a sandwich. In the Castelli Romani, it’s often combined with porchetta between a crusty roll.
Roman Jewish cuisine, some the city’s most ancient, foregoes guanciale for a juicy slab of mozzarella di bufala.
Let me know you you try this recipe before the end of the season!