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Vegetables

Sun-drenched Italy grows a wonderful cornucopia of healthy and delicious vegetables (the general word is verdura), often going by a confusing array of regional names. Actually finding some to eat in a trattoria, beyond a few lettuce leaves as a contorno, (side dish) can be a thankless task. Whenever we travelled around Italy, as much as we loved the food, we'd return crazy for spinach or broccoli. Piles of it.

Plus it ain't only what you do, it's the way that you do it. Once in our little Umbrian hamlet of Rosciano we were caught in the act of eating dinner by a sweet elderly signora who was bringing us yet more persimmons. She glanced in the door and saw our plates on the table, with the meat, spinach and rice all sharing space, anglo-american style. 'Tutti nella stessa piatta!' ('All on the same plate!') she breathed in horror. Within an hour the entire village of 52 knew, and our reputation was ruined forever. The plus side, however, is the village adopted the children to feed them properly, Italian style, so we were off the hook.

aglio

garlic

agretti

salsaola soda, saltwort

alghe

seaweed

asparagi

asparagus

baccelli

pods

baggianata

green beans with pancetta, tomatoes & wine

barba di becco

salsify

barbabietola

beet (beetroot)

batata

sweet potato

battuto

chopped ingredients or steak tartare

bieta

Italian chard

bietola

Swiss chard

broccoletti

'little broccolis'

broccolo

broccoli

brovada

pickled turnips

bruscandoli

shoots of the wild common hops plant

Bruxelles

Brussel sprouts

cannellini

white beans, related to kidney beans

caponata

Sweet sour eggplant (aubergine) salad

caponet

stuffed Savoy cabbage

cappero

caper

carciofo

artichoke

cardi

cardoons

carota

carrot

castrature

baby violet artichokes

cavolata

cabbage or cauliflower dish

cavoletti

Brussel sprouts

cavolfiore

cauliflower

cavolo

cabbage

cavolo rapa

kohlrabi

ceci

chick peas

cetriolino

gherkin

cetriolo

cucumber

cicerchia

grass pea

cicoria

chicory/endives

cime di rapa

brassica rapa

cipolla

onions

cipollotto

spring onion (green onion, or scallion)

cipudduzzo

the bulb of the grape hyacinth

citrulidda

little cucumber

condiglione

mixed salad with anchovies or tuna

corno di capra

goat horn pepper

crauti

sauerkraut

crescione

garden cress or watercress

cucuzza

bottle squash

fagioli

beans, beans, beans and more beans

fagioloni

string beans or string bean shaped pasta

fave

broad beans

finocchio

fennel

fiori

flowers

fiori d'acacia

acacia blossoms

friarielli

turnip tops, or green peppers

frizzaglio

ratatouille

germogli

sprouts, shoots

giardiniera

pickled, or with vegetables

gombo

okra (lady's fingers)

gurguglione

summer vegetable stew from Elba

indivia

endives/chicory or frisée even

insalata

salad

insalata di rinforzo

'reinforcement salad'

insalatone

a really big salad

lampascioni

bulbs of the grape hyacinth

lattuga

lettuce

legume

pulses

lenticchie

lentils

luppolo

hops

mais

corn (maize)

melanzane

aubergine (eggplant)

misticanza

Roman mixed salad

navoni-rutabaga

swedes or rutabaga

ncapriata

broad bean purée and chicory

ortaggi

vegetables

ortica

stinging nettle

pannocchia

ear of corn

papaccella

sweet pepper from Campania

pastinaca

parsnip

patata

potato

peperonata

stewed bell peppers

peperone

peppers (capsicums)

piattelle canavesane di Cortereggio

rare white beans

pinzimonio

crudité salad

piselli

peas

pomodoro

tomato

porcellana

purslane

porro

leek

primizie

'first fruits'

puntarelle

chicory sprouts

rabarbaro

rhubarb

radic di mont

wild chicory shoots

radicchio

red chicory

radice

roots

rafano

horseradish

rambasici

stuffed cabbage

ramolaccio

wild radish (or white radish)

rapa

turnip

raperonzolo

rampion

ravanelli

radishes

roveja

wild pea

rucola

rocket (arugula)

salicornia

marsh samphire

scalogno

shallot

scarola

endive lettuce, escarole

scorzonera

black salsify

sedano

celery

soia/soja

soy beans

soncino

lamb's lettuce (corn salad)

spinaci

spinach

sponsali

spring onions (scallions)

stak

bean and potato mush

taccole

mangetout

taroz

Valtellina baked vegetables with cheese

tegoline

green beans—or roof shingles

tenerumi

shoots or tendrils

topinambur

Jerusalem artichoke

torta pasqualina

savoury Easter pie

tortei di patate

potato pancakes

torzella

the oldest cabbage in the Med

trombetta

a twisty sort of courgette

tuberina

Chinese artichoke (crosne)

valeriana

lambs lettuce

vecchia alla parmigiana

vegetable side dish, sometimes with horsemeat

verdure

vegetables

verza

savoy cabbage

vitabla

traveller’s joy or old man’s beard

zastoch

sautéed mixed vegetables

zucca

pumpkin, squash or gourd

zucchini

courgettes, zucchini

Text © Dana Facaros & Michael Pauls

Image by pexel stock pics