Spring Recipes
By Molly Watson, About.com Guide to Local Foods
Eating locally means eating seasonally. These seasonal spring recipes will help you get started using all the great local and regional products you find at farmers markets, farm stands, and co-ops. More than just ways to use spring produce you find, these recipes are designed to be cooked in spring: they use other produce that is available in spring and they take spring weather and its drastic shifts from hot to cold, calm to windy into consideration.
- Easy Spring Desserts
- Spring Side Dishes
- Simple Spring Soups
- Spring Breakfasts
- Making Spring Last: Preserving
What's In Season in Spring?
First things first: You have to know what's in season to cook seasonally. See what's considered "spring produce" and what's in season in your neck of the woods so you know what to expect at the market.
Spring Fruits
Spring starts with lemons and grapefruits - the sunnier, tarter citrus fruits that carry over from winter. Rhubarb tends to be the first truly spring fruit to arrive at the market and hold forth until strawberries, the king of spring fruits, show up. Warmer areas also get a hit of cherries and apricots before the season officially turns to summer.
Spring Vegetables
From artichokes and asparagus to spinach and sweet peas, spring vegetables are the greenest around. The fresh, tender vegetables of spring are more fragile than those of other seasons and are particularly well worth seeking out from fresh, local sources.
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Fava Beans
- Fiddleheads
- Green Garlic & Garlic Scapes
- Green Onions / Scallions
- Lettuce
- Pea Greens
- Radishes
- Spinach
- Spring Beets
- Spring Onions
- Stinging Nettles
- Sweet Onions
- Sweet Peas, Garden Peas, English Peas, Snap Peas
Quick Spring Dinners
Spring produce is so tender, most of it needs but the briefest of cooking time. And that's a good thing as the days grow longer and warmer and pull us outside and away from the kitchen.
- Asparagus Stir-fry
- Spring Vegetable Couscous
- Snap Pea & Tofu Stir-fry
- Green Garlic Pesto
- Spring-to-Summer Vegetable Ragout
Fresh Spring Salads
The fresh, tender produce of spring practically turns itself into salads
- Fava Bean & Pecorino Salad
- Asparagus & Butter Lettuce Salad
- Beet & Yogurt Salad
- Roasted Beet & Feta Salad
Easy Spring Desserts
Try these fresh, light desserts to end any spring meal.
Spring Side Dishes
Let the clean flavors of spring vegetables shine through with these easy side dishes.
- Asparagus With Vinaigrette
- Lemon Herb Orzo Pasta Salad
- Braised Radishes
- Marinated Fava Beans
- Spinach Rice Pilaf
Simple Spring Soups
Some hot, some cold, depending on the particular spring weather you're experiencing this week.
- Asparagus Chickpea Soup
- Stinging Nettles Soup
- Artichoke Soup
- Cream of Fava Bean Soup
- Chilled Beet Soup (Cold Beet Borscht)
Spring Breakfasts
Light and full of sunny springtime flavor, these easy breakfast dishes use the sweet produce of spring for great, seasonal starts to your day.
Making Spring Last: Preserving
For advanced local eaters only: Preserving the seasons. Canning, jarring, freezing, drying are all part of serious local eating, since preserving takes the bounty of each season and saves it for a future time when that particular bounty has faded. If you've never preserved before, don't worry. It's a lot easier than you may have been led to believe.
