Vignarola, Vignole or Spring Vegetable Stew

My Italian friends are going to be proud of me, I’ve blogged two Italian recipes in one week! Vignole is not something I would normally make without at least a recommendation. It’s not that I don’t like vegetables but I don’t crave them like I do pasta or a crunchy apple! But when I read the Vignole recipe, it just sounded so good to me, especially with the touch of fresh mint! Vignole can be served as a vegetable stew by adding chicken stock or vegetable stock for a vegetarian version. And it can be made sans the stock altogether and served over pasta.

The recipe does call for Prosciutto but I don’t care for Prosciutto, but I could use some leftover Easter Ham that I had frozen. I also substituted Green Onion for Leeks which I always do and added a little White Wine. And the recipe called for a “small bunch of mint” but just how much is a small bunch of mint? So minced up about 1/3 c. and it worked out well, but next time I would add a little bit more mint. And I do think that Garbanzo Beans would be a great substitute for the Fava Beans.

All in all the Vignole was absolutely delicious! And serving it with some freshly made Italian Bread made the best dinner! I definitely will be making Vignole again and again and again.

Vignole

4 small artichokes
1 c. fresh Fava Beans
3/4 lb fresh Spinach, cleaned and stemmed
2 TBL Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6-7 Green Onions, chopped
1/2 c white wine
2-3 c Chicken Stock
1 c Peas
4 thick slices of prosciutto (I used about 1 c diced leftover Easter Ham)
1/3 c. minced fresh Mint
1/2 c. minced Parsley
Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

Fill a sauce pan with cool, salted water. Add Artichokes and bring to a boil. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until tender and drain. Allow to cool, then peel back the outer leaves and discard. Remove the choke with a knife and cut the Artichoke heart into quarters. Set aside.

Heat a large saucepan, big enough to hold all the ingredients, and add a good splash of oil. Cook the onion very gently for about 10 minutes until soft. Add the Chicken Stock, Ham, Peas and Beans and bring back to the simmer. Add the wine and Spinach and simmer until wilted about 5 minutes. Add the minced Parsley and Mint.

Serve with some freshly baked Italian Bread. Enjoy!

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Tagged as: Artichokes, Chicken Stock, Fava Beans, Ham, Italian, Mint, Peas, Spinach, Vegetable