An Italian Dish that You May Have Never Heard of

This is a Roman dish called Vignarola

One of my followers just got back from Rome and said that the best thing they ate on their entire trip was this Vignarola. It’s a dish that truly captures the essence of Spring produce and while I used guanciale in mine, I have seen many that are vegetarian.

I had never heard of this dish and I love it when that happens. Spring is a time when some very special ingredients are in season for a short amount of time. Things like asparagus, fava beans, fresh peas and artichokes have a short period where they shine and the time is now. I am a big believer that if you eat seasonally then you really don’t have a to be a great cook to make your food taste good. You simply eat what’s good now and then do very little to it. Of course you can eat these items all year around, but they will never taste the same in October. I used the leftovers and turned them into a gorgeous pasta with the addition of some (a lot) of Parmigiana Reggiano and some pasta water. The end result was also sublime.

This serves 4-6 people as a side dish

Ingredients: