You don’t have to get too fancy with spring produce. After a long winter of brassicas and root vegetables, it’s often enough to simply embrace the crunch and fresh flavours of farmers’ market and produce aisle finds. Here’s a look at six spring vegetables, and some easy ways to prepare them.
ARTICHOKES
Don’t be dissuaded by the prep work involved with artichokes. As cooks in their native Mediterranean know, these beauties are well worth the minimal effort. They can be baked, braised, fried and stuffed. But a good introductory way of enjoying them is by steaming them whole – that way you don’t need to worry about removing the fuzzy chokes (inedible centre) or hearts.
Dip them in mayonnaise or butter, or try Ellie Krieger’s recipe for Steamed Artichokes with Saffron Yogurt Dip, or Joyce Goldstein’s Carciofata di Trieste (Spring Vegetable Stew). When cleaning your artichokes, make sure to drop them into a bowl filled with ice water and lemon juice as you work. This will keep them nice and green.
Peak season is March through May. Choose artichokes that look compact, green and fresh (not shriveled or withered), and feel heavy and firm.
ASPARAGUS
Shave them into thin ribbons to toss into salads, roast them, sauté them, steam them… asparagus spears scream spring. In terms of prep work, the question is to snap or not to snap? The bases of the spears are woody, and typically we’ve been told to simply snap off the butt, trusting that it will snap in the right place. If you feel like this method wastes too much of the spear, feel free to simply trim the ends. Unless you’re making something like a soup that needs to be velvety smooth, as Food52’s Merrill Stubbs recommends.
Try blanching asparagus for Jeanine Donofrio’s Asparagus Edamame Salad with Tarragon, or marinating raw ribbons in Sarah Britton’s Asparagus Ribbon Salad. Emily von Euw’s recipe for Steamed Asparagus with Red Rice, Mushrooms, Nori and Thick Tomato Sauce keeps it simple with steamed spears that melt in your mouth.
Peak season is April through June (depending where you are in the country), so enjoy fresh and local asparagus while you can. Look for tightly closed, bright-green tips, and firm, straight stalks.
FIDDLEHEADS
Fiddleheads are a highly anticipated springtime treat – the window is short, the reward is great. Sauté, pan-fry, or pickle this seasonal delicacy. Prep work is minimal; just make sure to remove the papery brown husks. Healthycanadians.gc.ca has detailed safety tips for preparing and cooking fiddleheads, as the edible ferns can cause food poisoning if not handled properly.
Marisa McClellan’s recipe for Pickled Fiddlehead Ferns will enable you to enjoy fiddleheads all year long. Steam fiddleheads to serve alongside chef Andrew George’s Toody Ni Juniper Duck, or sauté them and showcase them in Canadian Living’s Fiddlehead Omelette.
Peak season is April through May, and their availability is fleeting. So get them while you can. When buying fiddleheads, look tightly coiled tops that are bright green in colour.
RADISHES
Crisp and colourful, radishes are seriously underrated. Roast them and they undergo a sweet, mellow transformation. Eat them raw, and they add a peppery bite and serious crunch factor to salads, wraps and slaws. Young radish tops are delicious as salad greens and as a base for pesto.
Get a bunch of pretty, bright pink radishes for Donofrio’s Spring Polenta with Radishes and Garlic Scapes, in which the radishes are sautéed with chickpeas, garlic scapes and broccolini. Keep the greens and make von Euw’s Radish Greens with Cilantro, Lemon, Snap Peas and Avocado. And experience the delicious simplicity of Anna Jones’ Honey Roasted Radishes.
Peak season is May through November, so you have plenty of time to experience the radish’s versatility. Look for plump and firm roots with healthy leaves.
RHUBARB
Rhubarb is in fact a vegetable. Its tart nature makes it the perfect partner for sweetness, and strawberries of course. Stew rhubarb for a taste of spring all year round, Well Preserved will show you how. Try their Pickled Rhubarb recipe while you’re at it – a savoury-sweet-spicy condiment that makes a unique cheese plate accompaniment.
Toast to spring with rhubarb-based beverages from ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen: Rhubarb Lime Punch, and Rhubarb Strawberry Slush. Try a savoury spin on rhubarb with Nigel Slater’s Roast Leg of Pork with Spiced Rhubarb, or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Baked, Peppered Rhubarb with Black Pudding. For a sweet finish, Yossy Arefi offers a spring-appropriate Rhubarb and Rye Upside-Down Cake.
Peak season is April through June (depending where you are in the country). Look for crisp and firm stems with fresh-looking leaves.
SPINACH
Spinach may be a grocery store mainstay but it is at its best in springtime. Skip the freezer aisle and take advantage of tender and sweet baby spinach by keeping it fresh.
Try it raw in Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds. Or softened in Meera Sodha’s Salmon and Spinach Curry, which is quick and easy – making it ideal for a weeknight. For weekend brunch, try Lindsey S. Love’s gluten- and dairy-free Skillet Spinach and Chive Quiche with a fabulously nutty chickpea flour crust.
Peak season is April through October (depending where you are in the country). Look for brightly coloured leaves, and avoid the yellowed or wilted.
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