A side dish, but also a condiment for a first course, available only during spring: vignarola – a mix of broad beans, peas, artichokes and lettuce – was born as a poor dish in the Roman countryside, where vegetables abounded.

A verified theory surrounding the birth of the recipe maintains that it all started in Velletri, a town in the province of Rome where winemakers began to prepare this dish on their return from the vineyards (in italian, vigne), using freshly picked vegetables.