The recipe of Vignarola of May Day in Rome

May Day is the Workers' Day with concerts in the square and seminars, but for the Romans it means making the “trip out of city’s gate”, that is, in the countryside outside the city walls.

The menus of these picnics now belong to tradition: broad beans and pecorino cheese but above all the artichokes roasted on the embers of the pruning of the vineyard. These are a must in the Roman countryside cuisine to the point that the municipality of Velletri, a town rich in vineyards, has dedicated a heartfelt festival to them.

Broad beans and artichokes are typical of late spring and only in this period "la vignarola" can be prepared, a dish of Roman cuisine.

The recipe takes its name from the vignaroli (people from vineyards), those who brought fruit and vegetables to the market. Vignarola is a dish that today we could count among the vegan recipes as its ingredients are exclusively vegetables. And to be exact: artichokes, broad beans, peas, romaine lettuce and fresh onion.

It is a multipurpose recipe. In fact, if alone it could be a side dish, with bruschetta it becomes a single dish, or it can be a condiment for pasta or rice.

My recipe with some variations is adapted to season fettuccine.

May Day Vignarola recipe

We start by preparing the fettuccine, for each egg we will use 75 grams of flour 00 and 25 grams of re-milled semolina to give a sense of crunchiness to the pasta.

Then we move on to prepare the Vignarola sauce: we take the artichokes, which we clean by removing the hardest leaves and cut them thinly, then we shell the broad beans and peas and wash a few leaves of romaine lettuce.

At this point, chop the spring onion and put it in a pan with a little oil. When it turns golden, add the artichokes and after a few minutes add the broad beans and then the peas. Only at the end we add the lettuce cut into julienne strips and let it all take on flavor with white wine which we let evaporate.

We add salt and cook with a lid for 10-15 minutes. If needed, add a little hot water.

In the meantime, brown some bacon (from the cheeks of the pig) to enrich the final dish.

We cook the fettuccine and toss them in a pan with Vignarola. We serve them in a dish where we add the crispy bacon, a sprinkling of pecorino romano and a grind of Jamaican pepper (for the scent).

In the glass I chose a Friulian Pinot Grigio by Teresa Raiz.