I told him: “you don’t need to look beyond the open-air markets to find out, silly.”

And he said: “well let’s head to the market because I am running out of ideas for the 12 days of edible delights and it’s only the 5th day.”

So, we headed to the Sant’ Ambrogio market in Florence and here’s what we saw on the 5th day of December:

kale (cavolo riccio), potatoes (patate), broccoli (broccoli), artichokes (carciofi), thistle (cardo), cauliflower (cavolfiore), cabbage (cavolo), fennel (finocchio), onions (cipolle), spinach (spinaci), carrots (carote), beans (fagioli) and lentils (lenticchie), radicchio (radicchio), oranges (arancie), clementines (clementine), mandarins (mandarini), persimmons (cachi), pomegranates (melagrane), pears (pere), kiwis (kiwi), almonds (mandorle)

The Campo dei Fiori in Rome hosts an open-air food market that offers delicious food year round.

In Florence, look no further than the Sant’Ambrogio market.
Winter food is mostly a continuation of the stronger autumn harvests that continue to grow, but there are also some unexpected veggies that ripen even in the thick of the coldest months.

Eating in Italy in the winter is all about these hearty gems: cabbage, cavolo nero, kale, and cauliflower are perfect in hot soups while carrots, fennel, and lettuce add some color to the season’s salads.

Speaking of salads, another stunningly good veggie that makes its debut in December is radicchio. It adds a bitter, spicy note to salads and can also take center stage when grilled with lemon and parmesan shavings. For a special treat, try the decadent radicchio al lardo – radicchio leaves dressed in pig fat. Yowza!

Italian tradition has it that the best, most flavorful cabbage is harvested after a frost. This means that the markets and restaurants fill up with the stuff after the first frost of the year.