Carrying on from Geoff’s post about fruit names in Italian, today I’m going to look at the names of the most popular vegetables. Us Italians prefer our verdure (vegetables) to be nostrane (local) and generally try to avoid buying fruit and vegetables imported from foreign countries. A couple days ago I was at the supermarket looking for some potatoes (from Bologna, famous for its potatoes) when I heard an elderly woman saying to her husband: “I fagiolini vengono dal Marocco, non li voglio; le melanzane dalla Spagna, no grazie! Ah, ecco, le zucchine sono italiane, prendiamo queste!” (the green beans come from Morocco, I don’t want them; the eggplants/aubergines are from Spain, no thanks! Ah, the zucchini/courgettes are Italian, let’s get these!)

Sopra: Un banco della verdura al mercato

Here is my list of vegetables commonly found in Italy. Clicking on the names highlighted in blue will take you to my blogs giving recipes for that particular vegetable:

aglio (rarely pluralised) = garlic

asparago , plural asparagi = asparagus

barbabietola, plural barbabietole = beetroot/s

bietola, plural bietole = chard

broccolo, plural broccoli = broccoli

carciofo, plural carciofi = artichoke/s

cardo, plural cardi = cardoon/s

carota, plural carote = carrot/s

cavolfiore, plural cavolfiori = cauliflower/s

cavolo, plural cavoli = cabbage/s

cavolo nero toscano = black cabbage or Tuscan kale

cavolini di Bruxelles = Brussels sprouts

cetriolo, plural cetrioli =  cucumber/s

cicoria (rarely pluralised) = chicory

cima di rapa, plural cime di rapa = turnip top/s

cipolla, plural cipolle = onion/s

erbette  = perennial spinach

fagiolo, plural fagioli = shelled bean/s, e.g. fagioli borlotti (borlotti beans)

fagiolino, plural fagiolini = green bean/s or French bean/s (aka mangiatutto = mange tout)

fava, plural fave = fava bean/s or broad bean/s

finocchio, plural finocchi = Florentine fennel/s or bulb fennel

fungo, plural funghi = mushroom/s

insalata = salad

lattuga = lettuce

melanzana, plural melanzane = aubergine/s or eggplant/s

patata, plural patate = potato/es

peperone, plural peperoni = pepper/s or capsicum

pisello, plural piselli = pea/s

pomodoro, plural pomodori (the correct plural should be pomidoro = golden pomes, but the form pomodori is now used exclusively) = tomato/es

porro, plural porri = leek/s

rapa, plural rape = turnip/s

ravanello, plural ravanelli = radish/es

rucola (only used in the singular) = rocket

sedano, plural sedani = celery/ies

sedano rapa = celeriac

spinacio, plural spinaci = spinach

zucca, plural zucche = pumpkin/s

zucchina, plural zucchine (the feminine form zucchine is more common than the masculine zucchini) = courgette/s or zucchini