Spring is a great season for eating in-season fruits and vegetables. Eating in season provides benefits.
- You can eat a more healthy diet by purchasing fresh foods.
- Fresh foods purchased in season are – in theory – less expensive.
- Fresh produce can lead to greater variety and better flavor in your diet.
8 In-Season Recipes for Spring
From the SolveHungerToday website, I bring you eight recipes. Not just for spring, but for every season and every region in the United States, this additional website gives you a list of fresh produce for which to plan.
Apricots
Apricots are a sweet way to end a meal – or, they can be the basis for a sweet breakfast. Food blog A Beautiful Plate gives step-by-step instructions on creating Challah French Toast with Roasted Apricots, Vanilla Mascarpone and Toasted Almonds.
Think apricots are the worst fruit on the planet? You aren’t alone. The recipe site gives a hint for the perfect apricot. “Roast your apricots people! It is a life-changing thing. You can take the crappiest apricot on the planet, roast it at high heat, and transform it into the best apricot of your life. And yes, that sounds ridiculously dramatic, but it is totally true.”
Asparagus
Fresh, flavorful asparagus is a treat – and it can really amp up a quinoa salad. The Kids’ Table blog suggests this Minty Asparagus Quinoa Salad, featuring purple asparagus, parmesan and garlic. Don’t like asparagus? Try sugar snaps, fava beans, English peas or edamame instead.
Broccoli
Those early spring nights can be chilly, so warm up with a bowl of broccoli soup. UrbanChickpea.com’s recipe for Creamy Broccoli Soup is a vegan take on the comfort classic.
This soup combines broccoli with garlic, onions, lemon and cannellini beans.
Mushrooms
Sunday brunch on a sunny spring day is the perfect time to try A Squared’s Ham and Mushroom Strata. It’s a hearty dish featuring eggs, French bread, cheese and fresh herbs for an extra pop of flavor. And what’s not to love?
A strata is an entire brunch cooked in one pan. Easy peasy.
Sugar Snap Peas and Radishes
Lottie and Doof’s Sugar Snap Salad recipe combines two veggies that are in season in the springtime: sugar snap peas and radishes. Olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and feta help to round out this light, crunchy salad.
You can use ricotta instead of feta, or any fresh cheese.
Rhubarb and Strawberries
Here’s another two-fer! Use in-season rhubarb and strawberries for Whipped’s Rhubarb Strawberry Cobbler. Serve a warm helping over ice cream or with whipped cream for a delicious dessert.
[Note from my mother: don’t use all of the sugar in this recipe. The strawberries will help sweeten the rhubarb.]
Spinach
There are always the go-tos for spinach: salads and dips. But if you want something a little outside the box, you might want to try Spinach Borek. According to Sayat-Nova, Spinach Boereg is an authentic Armenian appetizer featuring spinach and cheese encased in a crispy triangular phyllo shell.
Working with phyllo can be an adventure in itself, but this recipe has instructions.
Swiss Chard
We round out our springtime produce tour of Chicago blogs with this Swiss Chard and Onion Fritatta from the Marta in Chicago blog. This egg-based brunch favorite is full of fresh flavors, including the Swiss chard and onions, along with parsley, basil, garlic and Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses.
And to solve that ever-present question: what’s the difference between a frittata and a quiche? A frittata doesn’t have a pastry crust, and it uses eggs only, not eggs and cream. See? Healthy!
In Closing
You can’t go wrong buying in season. Period. And you can’t go wrong experimenting with a few new recipes.