I’ve admitted by shortcomings when it comes to foraging. I want to be a better forager. I intend to be a better forager. And one day I will be a better forager.

But in the meantime, when I have a springtime craving for dandelion green salad I have a very nifty trick. I invite my friend Carol over, and she is bound to arrive with a bag of freshly gathered dandelion greens. You see, Carol is very good at foraging (at least for dandelion greens). And she’s even better at being a dinner guest. Not only did she arrive with a bag-o-greens, she brought me a thick slice of pancetta and a nice red onion.

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Going to the markets in Rome in the spring is intoxicating. While I like cavolo nero, broccoletti and cicoria as much as the next girl, come April I am so over cruciferous anything. But spring brings artichokes, peas, fave and asparagus. And the season is so short for this spring bounty, that I buy and cook as much of them as possible.
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