The most iconic Roman vegetable is the artichoke, which can be stewed, fried, or shaved raw for salad. Artichoke season is generally early winter to mid-spring. They’ll first come from other regions of Italy, and then around February, the true carciofo romanesco<\/em> emerges from Ladispoli and Cerveteri just outside of Rome. These ‘chokes are round and as purple as a Roman emperor’s robe. When the weather gets too hot around May, they vanish.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Puntarelle<\/em> are even more ephermal. A sort of green chicory, it’s composed of tough outer leaves and tender shoots. The leaves are removed, and what remains gets sliced thin and doused with olive oil, vinegar and a ton of anchovy. You can only find them in the winter, but in the winter they’re everywhere<\/em>. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In Italy, May 1st is a national holiday, their version of Labor Day. In Rome, the tradition is to go to the countryside and eat fresh, green fava beans with shavings of sharp sheep’s-milk pecorino romano<\/em>. You’ll also find favas in springtime vignarola<\/em>, a mixed stew of lettuce, artichokes, favas, peas and guanciale<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Rome’s best-loved fruit is the fragolina<\/em>, a tiny strawberry. Only found in mid-spring, fragoline<\/em> are a trattoria mainstay in this period, best enjoyed with a light mascarpone cream or just zucchero e limone<\/em> (sugar and fresh lemon juice).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n