Vegetables and Salads

In many Italian meals, risottos, pastas, and soups are followed by vegetables or salads rather than meat or fish. Traditionally, it would have been unthinkable to start a meal with anything other than a soup or pasta but nowadays a heavier main course may be preceded by a salad or one of the vegetable dishes in this chapter.

When entering a restaurant in Italy you will often see a large table full of seasonal vegetables. Some have been grilled and then marinated with fresh herbs, some cooked slowly in oil, or combined with others as in the heavenly vignole of artichokes, peas and broadbeans, or simply boiled ready to be dressed with oil and lemon. There are bowls of various leaves, rocket, dandelion, or chicoria, depending on the season and region.