From the vineyards to the table, the typical spring dish in the recipe of the chef and host Giovanni Milana, who has created a winning twist with carbonara: the vignarola prepares it in a pan, with poached egg, pecorino fondue and toasted bacon
Never as this year the vignarola will be seen by the Romans as a rebirth. Because, if you want to be rigorous, vignarola is eaten only for a few weeks, when the prodigies of spring make the necessary ingredients coexist: the Roman artichokes, the beans, the peas, the spring onions and the Roman lettuce. Five shades of green that make it a hymn to nature that is reborn, to picnics, out-of-town trips, first outdoor lunches, perhaps near a beautiful vineyard. Because vignarola is a peasant dish that was born from the habit of growing legumes near the rows, since they bring nitrogen to the soil. When it is time to harvest these legumes such as peas and fava beans, it is time for the vignarola, or rather the dish of the winemaker.
Between Rome and its province, it is one of those recipes that you do not always find the same and that gives rise to countless variations. The location at the table also varies according to hunger and circumstances: there are those who use it as a condiment for an excellent pasta (better with egg pasta), there are those who consider it a second dish, some a side dish, some even the basis for a more complex dish.
It is the case of Giovanni Milana, chef, host and patron of Sora Maria and Arcangelo, one of those top-level taverns (Slow Food snail for years) that you have to go and look for, because it is in Olevano Romano, which is an hour's drive from the capital. But it's worth it.
Giovanni la vignarola makes it the basis of a very tasty dish, because it combines a poached egg and a fondue of pecorino romano and toasted bacon. In short, conceptually the result is a very successful mixture of two dishes of Roman cuisine: the vignarola, in fact, and the carbonara. He gave us the recipe, which can be made complete with egg and pecorino fondue, to research the taste of the chef's dish, or for those who want to stop at the base, it is the right start to prepare a doc vignarola.
Pan-fried Vignarola with poached egg, Roman pecorino cheese fondue and crispy bacon
Ingredients for 4 people
For the vignarola
2 Roman artichokes
1 kg of beans
1 kg peas
Some leaves of romaine lettuce
2 new spring onions
Mint a bunch
The juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
100 g of bacon cut into strips
½ glass of white wine
salt and pepper
For the poached egg
Small saucepan with water, two spoons of white vinegar and a pinch of salt
4 eggs
4 slices of toasted bread
For the pecorino fondue
100 g pecorino romano
¼ whole milk
1 yolk
Method
Shell the peas and fava beans, and aside clean the artichokes by removing all the hard leaves. Once cleaned, cut them into wedges and immerse them in water acidulated with lemon juice. Aside, cut the bacon into strips and spring onions. In the meantime, heat the oil in a pan to which the bacon must be added, which must brown for a few minutes, then it is the turn of the onions, to cook over a moderate flame to make them sweat. Once the onions are browned, add the artichokes and peas to the pan, raise the flame a little and stir to make them flavor well in the sauté. After a few minutes, pour in the wine and, when it is soft, adjust with salt and pepper. After a few minutes, it is the turn of the beans and the mint. Wet with ½ ladle of hot water or vegetable broth, cover and cook for 10 minutes before adding the chopped lettuce, mix, cover and after a few minutes the vignarola is ready.
Apart from preparing the poached egg, bringing the water to a slight boil with the addition of two tablespoons of vinegar and a pinch of salt, with the help of a ladle create a whirl where to break the egg and bring the poached cooking.
Separately, toast some strips of bacon in a pan to give the dish a crunchy note.
For the fondue, bring the milk to a boil, add the grated pecorino cheese and melt it, add 1 yolk as if it were a cream and cook the sauce.
In a small saucepan, put the vignarola, a slice of toasted bread and on top of the poached egg, a spoonful of fondue and toasted bacon, garnish with a touch of mint.
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