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Stewed Spring Vegetables

In springtime, la vignarola is a veritable cult food when, for a few magic weeks, young, tender fava beans, sweet shelling peas and locally grown globe artichokes are available simultaneously in the markets. Many Romans insist that the ingredients be cooked together, while others maintain the vegetables must keep their separate identities until near the end, as in this version. Some feel that favas without guanciale is sacrilege; others tout the vegetarian version. Yet all agree that la vignarola fits in nearly anywhere in the meal, as a primo, a light main course or a contorno.

By williamssonoma · From Open Recipes · 8 ingredients
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Stewed Spring Vegetables

Why it works: Artichoke and beans match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 154 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

Stewed Spring Vegetables

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

291Calories
10 gProtein
14 gFat
36 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Artichoke1 medium (128g)60
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Beannot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By williamssonoma. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Artichoke + beanstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together154 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  2. Artichoke + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together745 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  3. Beans + olivetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,470 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

  4. Beans + peastop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together949 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  5. Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,242 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (artichoke, beans, peas, prosciutto, olive, pepper):

  1. Asparagusfits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Lettucefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against artichoke, beans, peas, prosciutto, olive, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.