Roman spring vegetables Now that the weather is improving (we hope!), here’s a lovely dish of seasonal late spring vegetables in the Roman style, based on a River Café recipe – I’ve eaten variations on this in Rome, with asparagus or globe artichokes. It’s ideal for veggie-growers like me, because you can adapt the dish to whatever’s available in the allotment or kitchen garden. Serves 4 To start: Approx 150-200g waxy new potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes Generous handful broad beans Clove of garlic, chopped To add: Half a bunch of asparagus, or two globe artichokes (small if possible) Generous handful of fresh garden peas Broad beans or new season flat beans, if available A handful of spinach or Swiss chard leaves Some fresh mint leaves (optional) You’ll need a fairly wide sauté pan with a lid. Start with the potatoes, broad beans and garlic. Saute everything in a little olive oil for five mins – watch out, because it can stick, so keep an eye on the pan. If you’re using asparagus, just break off the tough stem at the bottom (you can tell where this is by bending the asparagus stick), and throw it away. Cut the asparagus in thick chunks. If you’re using globe artichokes, chop off the top by about a third; remove the tough outer leaves and trim the stalk to about 2-3cms length. Quarter the artichokes and strip out the fluffy ‘choke’ inside, which is inedible. Slice into eighths or sixteenths, depending on the size of the artichokes. (The ideal is to have very small purple artichokes no bigger than an egg, which you can slice whole – that’s what they do in Rome. There’s no need to do anything else with them; but they’re very difficult to find here in England.) Add the asparagus or artichokes and peas (plus flat beans and/or spinach or Swiss chard if you have them) to the pan; stir well to coat with oil, then add enough hot water to cover. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes with the lid on till most of the water is absorbed. Season with salt and black pepper and stir in some fresh mint leaves, if liked – I think they make a great addition. Serve at room temperature. This is really good with some Puy lentils – say 50g lentils per person. No need to soak; just simmer in about twice their volume of water (no seasoning till the end) for about 30 mins till soft. Add fresh mint leaves to these too. © Jane Chittenden for Future Radio June 2014
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 15:19:44 +0000