Spring has officially arrived along with all its beautiful presents. We can finally feel the sunlight’s warm touch, get rid of all the warm and heavy wool sweaters and jackets, we start walking barefoot (no socks anymore, my favourite), we leave our windows and doors wide open and welcome the spring breeze, enjoy the verdant gardens and wonderful roses and start to stay out at nights.. It’s like entering a new world, a new life!

This beautiful scenery is so mood-enhancing. I feel this incredible energy inside me and around me that fills me up with so much joy and positivity.. It feels like I’m relieved of a burden, as if I’m suddenly so light, as if I’m flying!

Alongside those gorgeous presents, spring has also brought a variety of super fresh ingredients to work with. Whenever I go grocery shopping, I get so excited to see which new fruit and vegetable has made its appearance this week. I’m always very impatient during this period and I’m so ready to let go of our winter menu! Thus, I dive into these wonderful spring entries and leave all those cabbagebroccolicauliflowers behind!

I can’t hide my excitement today as I came back home with a bag filled with super fresh, organic artichokes. They’re fresh, beautiful and quite expensive, to be honest! These gorgeous flowers never cease to amaze me. I didn’t have a specific recipe in my mind when I bought them, I only knew that I’d take pictures of them first.

I love artichokes. Although I used to never eat them, for unknown reasons, it’s been quite a while since they started climbing to the top of the list with my favourite veggies. I hope the artichokes we’ve planted in our vegetable garden will make their appearance soon. They’re located on the mountain though, so it will definitely take a while. Until then, I will have to compromise with the organic ones I find on the market. I’m so happy that it’s finally their season. I won’t let them rest, they’re so delicious and healthy after all!

I literally had no idea which recipe I would make for the day; the options were endless and I was so excited that I couldn’t really pick one. That’s when I remembered a very special pasta recipe with artichokes. A wonderful dish that we tried in Gradara, during a workshop, made by Mama Solfrini! Just incredible! I looked for the recipe into Valentina Solfrini’s book, Naturally Vegetarian, which has become such a necessity for me, but I couldn’t find it there. I eventually found a quite similar one on her blog, Hortus (http://hortuscuisine.com). It’s like an artichoke ragù. I’ll keep this recipe as a guide but I will also play with it a little.

It’s a very easy and flavourful dish. We’re expecting some friends today so it’s exactly what I needed. My artichokes are quite small, very tender and easy to clean. Cooking them when they’re so tender almost breaks your heart. They can also be consumed raw, with a bit of olive oil, salt and lemon. I’ve set the bar high though and I’ll attempt to give my dish the wonderful flavour that I had the chance to taste when in Gradara!

I’ve picked my pasta for the day, tagliatelle! I think it goes really well with this recipe. My artichokes are ready for their photo shoot and already posing, and they’re quite photogenic, as you can see!