Vignarola

Vignarola is a Roman dish made during early spring when the ingredients necessary for the dish are at their freshest. It consists of sliced spring onions, diced pancetta or guanciale, broad beans, shelled peas, baby artichokes, lettuce leaves, and white wine.

The vegetables are slowly simmered until they become extremely tender. Vignarola is usually served as an antipasto, but it can also make for a nice main dish or a side dish. Some say that vignarola is a recent variation on the Roman dish fave al guanciale.

The name of the dish supposedly refers to vignarole, young women who worked in the vineyards in the early spring and would make a meal with whatever they found growing there. However, some say that the name is derived from vigna, meaning vine, and others claim that vigna means vegetable garden in Roman dialect, hence the name of this fresh vegetable dish.