Spring

This great and easy sandwich could serve you well for breakfast, lunch, or a picnic. Basically, it is scrambled eggs with onions and asparagus. I prefer thin asparagus for this dish, since I recall making it with wild asparagus that I would go and forage every spring with my grandmother. Here in the States, asparagus is farmed abundantly. Wild asparagus is more bitter than the farmed variety, but I love any fresh asparagus. I sometimes use scallions instead of onions, including two-thirds of the green part of the scallion stalks as well.

I got this recipe from Guido Pezzini, the patriarch at Pezzini Farms in Castroville, California, who claims that just about every dish his mother cooked included artichokes in some form. This soup is one of his favorites. The Pezzinis are a delightful and caring family, with Sean, the grandson, as the next generation in training.

I love asparagus and cook it many different ways, and on my visit with the Maugeri family, one of the oldest and largest family produce farms in New Jersey, I discovered this delicious recipe. I was told it is a family recipe handed down through three generations, and I am delighted they shared it with me so I can share it with you.

I have made fried artichokes many ways before, but I found this recipe at Liuzza’s in New Orleans different and quite tasty. The interesting part is that the recipe is made with jarred or canned artichokes. The batter is light and fries up crispy, while the artichokes remain tender and tasty. This is an ideal recipe to serve when unexpected guests arrive and all you have is a can of artichoke hearts in the cupboard and a beer in the fridge.

In creating this recipe, I added the mortadella on the spur of the moment. I love raw artichoke salad, but have often prepared this salad with many other, different ingredients, such as raw mushrooms, or shavings of Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. Recently I made a beautiful salad of small artichokes, crunchy celery, and some great imported mortadella, which I happened to have on hand. And so this salad was born: it certainly is based on tradition, but with my own touch. It has now become a family favorite for buffets, antipasto, or just for lunch.

Savannah holds the second largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the United States. It is quite a sight to see: Our city turns green and corned beef and cabbage is everyone’s favorite dish for the day.

I serve this as a congealed salad at holiday meals.