Spring finally arrives and thehe traditional Italian cuisine offers numerous artichoke recipes: from north to south, in fact, each region boasts its own quality of this curious vegetable, which can be prepared and cooked in many different ways.

It is said that the cultivation of the artichoke in Europe in fact has a very ancient origin: primarily domesticated in Sicily around the 1st century, it appeared in 1400 in Tuscany, from which it left for France, thanks to Catherine De' Medici, who adored raw artichoke hearts. From there, French and Spanish colonizers introduced it overseas to the Americas.

No wonder, then, if traditional cookbooks explain how to prepare torta pasqualina with the artichokes typical of the Albenga plain, the so-called "thorny violets" with their delicate flavor and tender texture: in Liguria, in fact, the green cake with artichokes and "prescinseua" (a curd cheese typical of these areas) is the star throughout the Easter season. Then there is its Sardinian cousin, also thorny but with a stronger flavor, which is traditionally cooked stuffed with a mixture of ricotta and grated pecorino cheese.
Of a different kind is the Romanesco artichoke, or "cimarolo": round and without thorns, it is recognized by its characteristic bittersweet flavor. The recipe par excellence typical of Lazio is "alla giudia": fried and seasoned with plenty of pepper.

While artichokes have the advantage of being delicious and very versatile in cooking, we should not forget that are also extremely rich in nutritional properties that make them a true elixir of long life, with their Perfect mix of minerals, vitamins and flavonoids with antioxidant effect.

Despite everything, we must admit that artichokes, like all things, also have a flaw: their preparation, and especially peeling are rather tedious and time-consuming operations, while their somewhat fibrous texture does not always appeal to children.

Precisely for this reason, Bontà di stagione has thought of a special recipe, ready-made and only to be heated, to allow you to bring to the table all the flavor of artichokes for your whole family to taste: in fact, the artichoke and potato velouté has a light and smooth texture that makes the dish enjoyable even for the strictest judges of vegetables: children! In its 350-gram single-portion package, this velouté is 100% gluten free, vegan, cooked with exclusively Italian ingredients and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, with no added preservatives: in short, a first course like the one you would cook yourself.