In the spring, a young man’s
fancy lightly turns to thoughts of vegetables, greens, herbs and rhubarb. Or it
ought to, anyway. All of our fancies should be turning to these lovely edibles,
especially since we’ve been deprived of good examples of them for so many
months.
The snow is gone here, except
in the shadiest places, so even though not much is growing yet (my tulips are coming
up!) and the outdoor farmer’s market is another month in coming, I’m looking
for ingredients in the stores to help me celebrate spring. I’m thinking
radishes, asparagus, peas, delicate greens and herbs.
Here are 17 of my favorite
spring recipes from The Messy Apron Archives. Each part of a decent meal can
hold its own in representing this magical season, from appetizer to dessert.
Bright green and fresh
tasting this Green Pea Hummus can be made with frozen peas. You don’t have to
wait for your garden to grow to get a taste of the season.
I get locally-grown salad
greens as early as I can, and am happy to support the growers who cheat the
season by putting hot houses into action. The earliest baby greens are good
with a simple Feta and Lemon Vinaigrette, but this Buttermilk Herb Salad Dressing is
appropriate for crisp greens and delicate greens alike.
And, I love this Coconut Lime Salad Dressing, which is also great on warm noodles.
Arugula and spinach come early
have a home in the salad bowl, but each is delicious when combined with select flavorings
and processed into pesto. Arugula Pesto with Kalamata Olives is sharp and
hearty, while this Spinach Chive Pesto takes advantage of the earliest growth
of fresh chives.
This ultra-simple salad, Fresh Peas with Mint, celebrates any sweet home-grown peas you can get right out of
the garden.
As soon as I can get some delightfully
fresh asparagus, I make this Sesame Soy Asparagus with Garlic and Ginger. Even
though it is laced with Asian flavors, I’ll serve it on the side of just about anything.
I can hardly wait to get my
hands on the ingredients for Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad with Feta and Dill.
It’s one of my favorite dishes all on its own for a light meal, or next to a simply-flavored
protein.
Pasta-based meals are my
go-to year round, and spring offers some of the best options, like Pasta with Asparagus, Snap Peas, and Lemon
Asparagus, peas, and anything
else you love can all go into this delicately flavored Spring Vegetable Risotto.
For a main-dish salad, I love
this Shrimp and Pea Macaroni Salad.
While berries really only
come into my area in very late spring or early summer, rhubarb comes in early,
even to the big patch in my back yard. I’ll take whatever strawberries I can, however,
to go with my rhubarb in this Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce, which is great on this simple cake, on vanilla ice cream or stirred into yogurt.
Strawberries and rhubarb can
be scheduled for many, many playdates together, of course, like one that could
result in this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Graham Cracker Topping.
And rhubarb on its own makes a
fine dessert as well, especially in this Rhubarb Pudding Cake
And these Rhubarb Custard Bars.
I hope you are as excited
about spring dining as I am. The winter has been harsh, but the sun is shining
and green things are coming. And a whole meal stuffed with spring delicacies is
certainly something to which to turn our thoughts of love.
Other posts like this one:
Featured Ingredient: Asparagus, Featured Ingredient: Rhubarb, Featured Ingredient: Sugar Snap Peas, Favorite Vehicles for Maple Syrup
One year ago: Featured Ingredient: Fresh Herbs
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