At the heart of Italian summertime meals is a simple staple. No, it’s not pasta, but instead an easy to prepare, light, vegetable dish calld Pinzimonio. In fact, if you watched our farm-to-table VeroTalk with Chef Riccardo ‘Raccia’ Severi pinzimonio was the first dish he showed us: it is simply freshly cut, in-season vegetables, paired with a simple dipping sauce comprised, in its most basic version, of olive oil and salt. The beauty of pinzimonio is its versatility: grab whatever vegetables you have on hand and dip them in some of your favorite extra virgin olive oil.

In Romagna, Italy, local tradition holds that nothing goes better than pinzimonio with Sangiovese wine. For lunch, or even as a snack before dinner, farmers would open a bottle of a local Sangiovese red wine while in their garden and sip and munch on whatever was ripe in their gardens. Traditions such as this kind of farm-to-table seasonality is one of the beautiful aspects of Italian cuisine.

Farm to Table Food and Wines and Sovescio

When we spoke with Chef Riccardo in his garden during this VeroTalk, he showed the true meaning of ‘back to basics’. It was second nature for him and fellow ‘Romagnolo’ Davide from Braschi winery to enjoy a freshly picked vegetable in the garden with a glass of sangiovese. In fact, a dish like pinzimonio could be considered a poster-child for Riccardo’s project, Sovescio. In Italian, sovescio is an agricultural philosophy. Literally, it speaks about how to fertilize gardens and orchards in a sustainable and ecologically-friendly manner. It has become an overarching set of philosophies pertaining to sustainable and biodynamic agriculture.

With his restaurant closed by the pandemic, Riccardo used his new-found time at home to enlarge his orchard and vegetable garden, going back to his family’s farm-to-table roots. Riccardo enjoys sharing his passion for, not only local traditions, but culinary traditions as well. It is obvious to see why he chose to start his cooking demonstration off with pinzimonio freshly picked at the moment from his garden on camera! There is no denying, at its heart, you cannot get more ‘farm to table’ than pinzimonio: choosing fresh, local, or home-grown produce and serving it in such a raw natural form that one can truly admire and savor the delectable beauty of organic produce.

And gardeners with little land need not despair… balconies can produce surprisingly bountiful harvests! Vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, salads, and even eggplant or bell peppers can grow very well on even small inter-city balconies, giving even apartment-dwellers the opportunity to enjoy a farm-to-table harvest and create pinzimonio inspired plates and dishes in the summertime to enjoy with a good glass of wine and extra virgin olive oil.

How to Prepare Pinzimonio

Pinzimonio is one of the easiest and most versatile side dishes you can put together. It is also served as an antipasto. It can be as elaborate, or as simple, as the occasion demands, or your prep time allows. Start by selecting in-season vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, turnips, radishes, carrots, green onions, fennel, endive, salads, and bell peppers. Extra points for picking them out at a local farmer’s market or directly from your personal garden. Clean and prepare the vegetables as you like; most traditional is to cut them into large pieces or strips, easy to pick up with your fingers and dip.

To complement the fresh-cut veggies, traditional Italians love to dip them in extra virgin olive oil. For best results choose an extra virgin olive oil that is flavorful and high in polyphenols, such as Aurinia, an organic blend olive oil or Caletra, a highly rated organic mono-cultivar from Tuscan farm La Maliosa. Their bold flavors will add an extra punch of flavor. To finish, add in some large-grain salt to the extra virgin olive oil, and you are ready to start serving your pinzimonio! Some variations include adding a touch of balsamic vinegar or whole garlic cloves to the dipping oil, but we prefer honest-to-goodness simplicity of only EVOO and salt with fresh vegetables.

There is no right way to make a pinzimonio. Experiment with your favorite combination of vegetables and olive oils, or even other dips, and see how they pair with a delicious Sangiovese. Most importantly, take full advantage of local produce or your own garden to really dial in and enjoy your summer!

Shop Wines from Romagnolo Winery Braschi and Extra Virgin Olive Oils from La Maliosa