Spring has sprung and the market is full of English and sugar snap peas, asparagus, artichokes, spinach and green garlic. So this week’s menu is full of things we want to make and eat with all this green goodness.

Our spring green lasagna is rich with layers of English pea and spinach puree, ricotta and a green garlic bechamel. 

And the international house of spatchcockery is back with our chicken Vesuvio, a California version of a Chicago-Italian classic; spatchcocked, local, organic chickens marinated with farm-fresh citrus, garlic, and oregano. Roast this chicken and eat it as is perhaps with the spring green lasagna, or use our directions on how to make a little white wine, chicken stock pan sauce to pour over the roasted chicken, and maybe even some roasted potatoes, English peas, and artichokes. 

Mel’s meaty ragu is loaded with braised and shredded beef and pork. You could heat and serve it with Rustichella’s pappardelle pasta, showered with Giorgio Cravero’s 2 year aged Parmigiano Reggiano. Take it up a notch by adding some tangy oven roasted tomatoes using Bianco DiNapoli canned tomatoes. Or build an exceptional lasagna with our favorite ricotta from Gioia Cheese Company in South El Monte. Or make a sloppy Guiseppe by sandwiching it between slices of Bub and Grandma’s Calabrian chili cheese loaf! This loaf is mildly spicy with fontina and mozzarella folded into its moist crumb, and also delicious with oven roasted tomatoes and Gioia’s burrata, or simply toasted and dipped in some of our favorite local olive oil. And for those of us who can’t get enough of this fruity chili, we have jars of crushed Calabrian chili to spice up your ragu, make a vinaigrette to dress your artichokes or broccolini, or spread on pizza.

That’s right… we’re restocking our freezer with locally made frozen pizzas from La Morra. These Neapolitan-inspired pies are made with a naturally leavened dough that’s hand-stretched and wood-fired, with a crispy, blistered crust to prove it. We’re selling their Margherita, pepperoni, and vegan pie with marinated artichokes, pickled guindilla peppers, taggiasca olives, and plum tomatoes. 

For raw provisions, we have branzino filets to sear and serve with a spring sauté. We’ve also got grass-fed ground beef, Peads and Barnetts’ ground pork, and Italian sausages, and Mutti’s tomato paste to turn it all into a pot of bolognese. This tomato paste comes in a closable tube, so you can add a bit of paste and a depth of flavor and texture to sauces, stews, and braises (and never have to discover a mold-filled tin of tomato paste in the back of your refrigerator again.) 

And finally for dessert, we have our favorite tiramisu from our friends at Ceci’s to keep it Italian from start to finish.

Mangiamo, buon appetito!