Tag: seasonal

April shopping: seasonal vegetables – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Nature knows it all and every time change of season He gives us what we need most. We see this well with the expense of April: there typical vegetables of this month helps strengthen the immune system it’s at purify the body. Here are the seasonal vegetables to fill your shopping cart.

April shopping: seasonal vegetables

Agretti

The agretti they are also known as “friar’s beard”. Symbol of spring, they are available on the shelves from March until early May. Excellent simply boiled and seasoned with salt, oil and lemon, they are rich in mineral salts and purify the body. Here you will find some curiosities about agretti and here some ideas for cooking them.

Asparagus

They started appearing on the benches in March, but it is between April and May and a little bit of June that they asparagus they explode. They are rich in fibre, vitamins and mineral salts, they promote microcirculation and purification of the body because they drain the kidneys. They can be steamed, baked or pan-fried and their use is very versatile. Here you are 50 recipes to enjoy asparagus in all varieties, white, green and violet.

Artichokes

April is the last month in which we can enjoy the taste of artichokes and their digestive and purifying effects. Do you also know that they contain antioxidants useful for fighting cellular aging? Have they always seemed difficult to prepare? Here’s a tutorial for cleaning artichokes. And if you need some recipe for cooking artichokes, we give you 60!

Fava beans

April is the right time to buy fresh broad beans. Do you know that you can also eat them raw? They are a source of iron, vitamin B1, proteins and vegetable fibers which help reduce blood cholesterol levels and prevent diabetes. They also contain folic acid, which is very important for the functions of the nervous system and useful during pregnancy to prevent certain malformations of the fetus. Finally, thanks to the high manganese content, they are a valid aid in the prevention of arthritis and osteoporosis. Find it here everything you need to know about broad beans and many recipes for cooking them!

Rhubarb

Its use is not very widespread and this causes the rhubarb always be a surprise. Its pink color makes the table cheerful and its digestive and laxative properties also help our body in oxygenation and blood circulation. How can you use the rhubarb in the kitchen? For example to make a jam, a tart, a cake and many other desserts.

Rocket

With its unique “spiciness”, the rocket it is a source of vitamin C, folic acid and mineral salts. It has diuretic properties and is ideal for detoxifying the liver. Furthermore, rocket is a real friend of the bones, it has properties capable of stimulating the production of gastric juices, relaxes and promotes sleep and strengthens the immune system. A prescription? Pagello in rocket sauce!

Spinach

The spinach they are also protagonists of this month with their load of vitamin A, C, mineral salts, folic acid which helps to stimulate the production of red blood cells and which is effective in the prevention of tumors and cardiovascular diseases. They also contain chlorophyll, which regenerates cells by bringing them oxygen, improving cardiac contraction and revitalizing the vascular system. Here you are how to cook spinach And 10 recipes to try.

Dandelion

Leaves, flowers, roots: in the kitchen of dandelionbetter known as dandelion, everything is used! Contains vitamin C, iron and potassium, it helps to purify the blood, reactivate the metabolism and regulate the functions of the kidneys and liver, expelling excess cholesterol. It also has digestive, anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties. Here are ours ideas for cooking dandelion!

Other vegetables

You can still find beets, broccoli, cauliflower, radicchio and fennel, carrots, potatoes and radishes are always available.

March shopping: fruit, vegetables and seasonal recipes – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Meteorological spring begins today, March 1; the astronomical one with the equinox on Wednesday 20th of this month. There March spending It therefore reveals this moment of transition towards the new season: we still find abundant fruit and vegetables typical of winter and spring products are already appearing on the shelves.

Wild, cultivated, green and white

But we’ll be there soon. In March the first “official” announcements of spring come with asparagus: those cultivatedbut also those wild (pungent asparagus, Asparagus acutifolius) widespread throughout central-southern Italy, especially suitable for the preparation of excellent first courses with tagliatelle, macaroni (in Marche), Pici (in Tuscany) e you strangulate (in Umbria). The variety commonly cultivated in Italy, especially in Campaniait is thecommon asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), selected for cultivation already in Roman times. Among these, the varieties are valuable whitelike theasparagus from Bassano del Grappa in Veneto, that of Tavagnacco in Friuli and that of Cantello in Lombardy, which grow largely underground. White asparagus was selected much later, in the 16th century, when a hailstorm devastated the asparagus crops and the farmers made do by consuming the roots not yet emerged from the ground. In addition to traditional first courses, cultivated asparagus can be used for recipes such as asparagus cream and fried cream puffs; crepe lasagna with asparagus and taleggio cheese; soft eggs with asparagus cream; bruschettona, hummus, asparagus and courgettes.

Those cute beards

Next to asparagus, the other symbol of March dishes is made up of agretti or friar beards or negus beards. A very common ingredient in Roman cuisinebut who is meeting a growing success throughout Italy for its dietary qualities (just 17 kcal per 100 g): they are rich in water and fibre, have an excellent effect on diuresis and intestinal regularity. They also contain vitamin A, C and group B, especially B3. Mineral salts include potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron. In addition to their diuretic properties, they have purifying properties, thanks also to the high presence of chlorophyll and remineralising properties. Agretti usually go boiled and sautéed in a pan with garlic and oil, but in the first courses they also act as scenographic “green spaghetti” along with the “normal” ones. Or in the filling of ravioli or gods cannelloni. With their slightly bitter flavor they are also excellent in savory pies, such as in tarts with stracchino and agretti; in the flans; with the trout; with the potatoes; or with raisins and lettuce dressing. But be careful: the agretti season begins at the end of March and is very short. In May they will already be nowhere to be found.

Agretti with olives and dried tomatoes

Agretti, a rare and delicate first fruit, to be combined with olives and dried tomatoes for a simple and seasonal recipe

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March’s shopping: spinach and Brussels sprouts

March is the right time for children too spinachas well as some spring onions. Excellent time for artichokes, with the violets, the thorny ones and the various violets present almost everywhere at the same time. The reign of winter vegetables, the family of damn in the lead, even if the season for them is now in its waning phase. With the exception of Brussels sproutsespecially good in February, but which are also appreciated in March, as well as the chard and the leek. Green light also at Fava beans.

January: seasonal vegetables and fruit – Italian Cuisine

With the beginning of the new year, in the heart of winter, the fruit and vegetable stalls are certainly not stingy with products, far from it! It's time to fill your shopping bags with vegetables and fruit in January. To be interpreted in a rich, tasty and always varied cuisine that enriches the daily diet with vitamins, mineral salts, fibers and antioxidants, so precious for the well-being of the body and the immune system.

Triumph of leaves
Among thistles and fennel, broccoli and cabbage, undoubtedly those are to excel over the many vegetables of the moment leafy: spinach, beets, ribs white or colored, they cook quickly and give the diet mineral salts and lots of fiber, with an undeniable detox effect useful after the festive "big binges". They are eaten raw or cooked envy as the Belgian or the escarole, both good in salads as well as in the stuffed and stewed versions. They are part of the large family of chicory, among which it is necessary to mention the late radicchio from Treviso. The one on the market now has uniquely shaped tufts, with a thick stem and long, thin, slightly spread leaves that roll towards the tips in graceful curls. The taste is gentle but characteristic, to be enhanced with quick cooking or in the most classic of winter risottos. The stems are not discarded: well scraped and julienned, they will give a crunchy note to the preparations. Their texture is reminiscent of another seasonal vegetable, the celeriac, also called of Verona. It is actually a large rounded root with an irregular and brownish surface. Once peeled, it reveals a whitish and intensely aromatic pulp. Raw it is the protagonist of two famous salads: the American Waldorf with apples and walnuts and the local capricciosa with gruyère and cooked ham, both tied with a mayonnaise-based sauce. It can also be cooked in the oven or boiled to make a puree, like a potato. About potatoes: have you noticed that those on sale are getting bigger, with thick skin and dirty with soil? They are old potatoes, perfect for gnocchi!

At the greengrocer's
Many think that the winter orchard pales in comparison to that of the warm months. In fact, there are many ready-to-eat varieties. Between pears, for example, it's time to buy Abbot And Kaiser but also an exotic specialty, the Japanese Nashi, which ends its season in recent weeks and surprises with its juicy, delicate, very fresh pulp: it can be bought in Asian stores with the fruit and vegetable department, in organic ones and in well-stocked supermarkets. Looking at the vast world of citrus fruits, it's time for cedars of which the peel, the albedo (the white part, not at all bitter) and the central pulp, little but very aromatic, are consumed. The best way to serve cedar is, therefore, cut into thin slices like a carpaccio, to be enjoyed in salads together with fennel, raw shellfish, flaked cod. While diced it can finish both a risotto and a fruit salad. Other citrus "mangiatutto" (peel apart) are le clementines, cross between mandarins and mandarin oranges: small and juicy, they are characterized by the lack of seeds. The wedges are immediately inviting, so much so that one leads to the other … that the cherries are envious of! In addition to being an excellent source of vitamin C, essential for preventing seasonal ailments. Among the fruits rich in antioxidants, one cannot forget the pomegranate, which has certainly made a splash on the holiday menus but deserves a place at the table even these days: superfood for the well-being of the body, super ingredient to give an elegant and crunchy touch to many dishes.

Francesca Romana Mezzadri
January 2022