You know you often heard the expression when you were a kid: Finish your vegetables! It was usually followed by: “or you won’t get any dessert.” I sure did. Today the media is full of news about the benefits of eating lots of fresh vegetables, and the number of recommended daily servings for optimum good health.

In our Italian household, there was never had a shortage of the green stuff on our dinner table. My parents proudly grew all if it in our garden. My dad planted whatever was in season, and we always ate it fresh-picked the same day. Two favorites I especially remember are the Treviso chicory (similar to radicchio in flavor) and arugula (also known as rucola or rocket). Chicory is a little bitter compared to lettuce, and the arugula has a fresh peppery flavor.

Dad planted the vegetable garden each year. At the end of the growing season, he let the chicory and arugula plants dry out and go to seed. Then he’d carefully collect them to reseed the garden for the following year. We were raised in a very conservative home, and needless to say, anything that could be recycled was. Our Italian neighbors did the same, and we all shared the bounties of our gardens.

To keep us kids interested, Mom prepared the vegetables in many different ways. While she varied the menu each night, Dad always made sure we ate all our vegetables. One of her favorites—and now mine—was an arugula and radicchio salad with a simple red wine vinegar dressing. Sometimes she’d fry some chopped pancetta (Italian bacon) and spoon the hot crispy bits over the cold salad. Many restaurants serve a wilted spinach salad with bacon bits prepared basically in the same way.

Here is a simple recipe you can make up ahead of time and refrigerate in a glass bottle:

1 t sugar

1 t salt (or more to taste)

½ t black ground pepper (or more to taste)

2 T red wine vinegar

2 T balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all the ingredients and shake well. This dressing is light and refreshing on any salad, and the one great benefit is that it’s much lower in calories than any creamy variety. If you prefer, you can chop up and fry a couple of slices of pancetta, or bacon, drain and toss in with the salad.

Italy is a country with simple and uncomplicated dishes. The ingredients are pure, rustic and earthy, and artificial colors or flavors are never used in their cooking. The condiments are mainly salt, pepper, garlic and fresh herbs. One popular method of cooking a variety of vegetables is grilling—either outside on a grill or inside in the oven (roasting). Seasoned with only a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, grilling/roasting allows the vegetable’s natural sugars to caramelize, and thus enhances the flavor.

Here are a few simple techniques:

Some vegetables are more suitable to grilling/roasting because they retain their texture when cooked: Asparagus, eggplant wedges, fennel, green beans, peppers, onions, and zucchini are a few. Large grilled onion rings are an exceptional side to any grilled steak or burger. Be sure to cut the vegetables in more or less the same size to ensure even cooking. Whole radicchio and Belgian endive (just sliced in half lengthwise) are also excellent cooked on the grill.

Here’s all you do:

If using the oven, preheat to 425°. Wash, dry and cut up the vegetables. To prevent sticking, sprinkle a little olive oil on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Arrange the vegetables and drizzle with a little more olive oil, salt and pepper. In the photo below I used red, green and yellow peppers and a couple of zucchini squash.

Place the pan on the middle oven rack and cook 8 or 10 minutes until slightly tender. The bottoms will brown a little from the heat of the pan, and this adds a wonderful flavor. Remove from oven. They are better a little underdone—and become mushy if overcooked.

If grilling outdoors, to be on the safe side, place on a grill pan so the pieces don’t fall through the grill. Place on hot grill and cook 8 or 10 minutes, turn over to brown a little on the other side. Remove to a plate.

Grilled vegetables can be served as a warm or cold appetizer, in salads or as an accompaniment to the entrée. If you’ve ever had grilled vegetables, you know what I’m talking about, and if you haven’t, you’re missing out on a fine dining experience.

There, now you have a new salad dressing recipe to try out and a grilling/roasting lesson you can master the first time around.

Now go finish all your vegetables and be well!