Vegetable & Side Dishes

It doesn't have to be spring asparagus, but we just adore those first stalks.

Eggs, meet your new best friend, Piment d'Espelette. The subtle heat of this dried Basque pepper plays wonderfully against creamy scrambled eggs.

This simple recipe for a "gourmet's" salad comes from balsamic vinegar producer Acetaia Leonardi.

This wonderfully simple recipe comes from Anna Tasca Lanza of Regaleali Winery in Sicily.

Ricotta Salata, a hard pressed sheep's milk cheese from Lazio, Italy, takes this simple pasta dish to a whole new level. The salty richness of the cheese is perfectly offset by slightly bitter greens and a touch of heat from Italian hot pepper flakes for an all-around satisfying bowl of pasta.

Truly one of the simplest dishes of Italian cuisine... but so, so good!