Asparagus and peas, radishes and artichokes, ramps — spring is an exciting time to be in the kitchen, and these recipes will help you make use of what's in season. Think ricotta toasts paired with the grassy, slightly sweet taste of fava beans, and garganelli pasta covered with a garlicky scallion cream sauce. As for dessert? You'll have to read on to find out.
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Pizza with Garlic Cream and Nettles
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You can use either green garlic or scallions for the garlic cream, and feel free to use baby arugula instead of nettles, too.
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02of 24
Spinach and Green Pea Empanadas
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Chef Mauricio Couly uses a mix of spinach, fava beans, green beans, and a good amount of mint. He makes his own paprika-spiced empanada dough; store-bought empanada wrappers (available in the freezer section of many supermarkets and specialty food stores) work well, too.
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Spring Vegetable Stew
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When fresh fava beans are available, use them in place of the cranberry beans.
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Roasted Radishes with Radish Greens
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Chef Gerard Craft came up with this clever recipe one year when his local farmer had an abundance of radishes. Craft tried roasting them. The result: warm, crisp-tender radishes with delightfully bitter greens, which he finishes with butter and lemon.
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Garlic-Rubbed Pork Shoulder with Spring Vegetables
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Pork shoulder is often braised or smoked, but wine aficionado Andrew Green rubs it with garlic and herbs, then slow-roasts the meat until it's juicy and crusty.
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Short Ribs with Mushrooms and Spring Vegetables
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To layer the flavors in this dish, chef Rory Herrmann marinates beef short ribs and vegetables in red wine overnight, then uses the marinade in the braise as well. Spring vegetables help lighten the rich stew.
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Spring Panzanella with Asparagus
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Recipes for panzanella (a Florentine bread salad popular in the summer) typically call for tomatoes, but in the spring, Chef Mike Lata prefers using seasonal ingredients like asparagus and radishes.
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Morel and Asparagus Salad with Frisée and Butter Lettuce
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This light, simple salad highlights poached morels and asparagus with a combination of frisée and butter lettuces.
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Beer-Braised Chicken Stew with Fava Beans and Peas
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Chef Paul Kahan is a big fan of chicken thighs because they have so much flavor and are so inexpensive — the best of both worlds. He braises the thighs in beer to make an excellent spring stew that he (naturally) pairs with more beer, such as Pere Jacques from Chicago's Goose Island Beer Company, a Belgian-style ale full of caramelized malt flavors.
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Pea Consommé with Mint
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Chef Jeremy Fox simmers pea pods for this delicate broth. (Snow peas are just as delicious and easier to find.) He tops the consommé with shards of white chocolate because he likes the way it brings out the peas' sweetness while adding only a little fat.
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Spring Lettuce Salad with Roasted Asparagus
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This top-rated salad from chef Amber Huffman combines mixed spring lettuces, Parmigiano-Reggiano, asparagus, and a simple dressing.
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Sautéed Radishes with Orange Butter
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Star chef Emeril Lagasse sautés radishes and their greens with bacon, shallots, and orange juice until they're perfectly crisp-tender.
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Spiced Rhubarb Soup with Vanilla Ice Cream
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This silky fruit dessert is delicious on its own or topped with vanilla ice cream. Just be sure to only barely cook the rhubarb, so that it retains its crispness — and plenty of tangy flavor.
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Fava Bean Pasta e fa*gioli
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Chef Mike Lata's spring version of pasta e fa*gioli, the Italian soup, uses fresh fava beans in place of borlotti or cannellini beans, along with meaty bits of bacon and a sprinkling of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
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Farro Salad with Radishes, Snap Peas, Olives, and Pecorino
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Farro has a sweet, earthy flavor and delightful chewy texture; it adds a wonderful hardiness to the fresh, crunchy vegetables and salty olives and cheese in this salad. If Meyer lemons aren't available in your area, use regular fresh lemon juice and increase the honey to balance the dressing.
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Strawberry-Buttermilk Cobbler
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A mixture of spelt and almond flours, gently combined with cold butter and creamy buttermilk, creates tender, fluffy biscuits that cover this juicy strawberry cobbler filling. Use the sweetest, best-quality berries from the market; their flavor is the foundation of this seasonal dessert.
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Roasted Baby Artichokes with Parsley and Mint
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Removing the outer leaves and inner thistle of each baby artichoke reveals its lightly astringent, mildly sweet core, tender enough for quick cooking. Be careful to wash your cutting board and knife well after preparing the baby artichokes as they can leave behind a bitter residue.
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Ricotta-Fava Toasts
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The delicate, milky flavor of fresh ricotta pairs with the grassy, lightly sweet taste of fava beans. Use best-quality cheese, produce, and bread here for a toast that's more than the sum of its parts.
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Rhubarb and Currant Mostarda
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This slightly sweet mostarda gets plenty of gentle heat and acid from dry mustard, mustard seeds, and red wine vinegar. Dried black currants plump up as they absorb the liquid, providing a juicy bite.
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Garganelli with Speck, Peas, and Scallion Cream
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Sweet spring peas and garlicky sauce flood tubular garganelli pasta, making each bite a surprise. Substitute penne if you can't find garganelli, and don't skip the lemon and mint at the end, which bring balance to the dish.
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Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms
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A drizzle of syrupy aged balsamic balances the earthiness of the mushrooms and slight char on the asparagus.
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Wine-Poached Strawberries and Apricots
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Semi-dry Riesling, which is refreshing and not too sweet, is the secret to this impressive, balanced dessert. Dried apricots lend a gentle bitterness while the strawberries add sweetness and impart the rosiest color.
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Spring Gem Salad with Soft Herbs and Labneh Toasts
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Chef Nancy Silverton dresses asparagus, peas, radishes, and sugar snap peas with a lemon vinaigrette, then offers toasts topped with labneh alongside, turning this ode to spring produce into a light lunch or first course for dinner.
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Grilled Gulf Shrimp with Sweet Corn Coulis
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Tender, juicy sweet peas and yellow corn kernels make for a light and refreshing salad atop a silky, creamy corn coulis in this easy-to-double recipe by executive chef Meg Bickford of Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Tangy sour cream and buttermilk balance the natural sweetness of the vegetables and Gulf shrimp.
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