Easy recipes for spring
One of the nicest parts of the approaching summer (besides the lovely weather and sprouting gardens) is the number of easy spring recipes you can make with early produce in Canada. Dandelions, asparagus, fiddleheads and other early greens are most delicious when they're tender and new, so make the most of them early in the season.
Easy recipes for spring: Asparagus recipes
You'll get rave reviews for this light seasonal salad.
White asparagus are more popular in Europe than in North America. These milder spears are mulched to avoid exposure to sunlight and remain a beautiful ivory hue. You can serve the asparagus hot or chilled in this simple, attractive Spanish-style salad.
If you are using thick asparagus, peel stalks about two-thirds up the stalk toward the tip.
Pencil asparagus are the very thin, long stalks that are tender enough to stir-fry without blanching. For a vegetarian version, replace pork with firm seasoned tofu; you can also use chicken breast or veal.
Easy recipes for spring: Watercress recipes
Many people don't think of cooking watercress, but its mild, peppery flavour makes it quite versatile.
If you aren't serving this salad as part of a vegetarian meal, you can top it with one or two slices of cured ham, such as prosciutto, serrano or Westphalian ham.
Easy recipes for spring: Fiddlehead recipes
The taste of fiddleheads is reminiscent of rich, moist spring fields and forests. Choose tightly furled fiddleheads. Before cooking, carefully brush out and remove the brown scales and trim off the brown stem end.
Easy recipes for spring: Rhubarb recipes
This delicious seasonal dessert pairs lemons and oranges with our bountiful early summer rhubarb. It is exceptionally satisfying without feeling at all heavy.
Every June, Wendy Chan of Markham, Ont., finds herself with a lot of rhubarb on hand. So she drinks it -- she makes a lovely refreshing beverage that she wants to share with others.
The delicate flavours of these two spring and early summer fruits blend beautifully in this naturally low-fat ruby-red jelly. Dress with a simple tumble of fresh strawberries.
Easy recipes for spring: Mushroom recipes
Morels are the supreme springtime mushrooms. They are easiest to clean if you halve them lengthwise; leaving them whole is more attractive, but you must be extra diligent when cleaning them.
Although this unusual salad has a mildly licorice flavour, it is fresh and light-tasting.
Easy recipes for spring: Pea shoot recipes
The colours of this dish really say spring! As there are a few parts to be put together, get a guest or family member to help you plate, so everything is hot when served.
The tender tops of pea plants with a fairly assertive pea flavour, pea shoots are considered a delicacy in China and are well worth a trip to a Chinese grocer. Square Shanghai wonton wrappers (also called large or white wonton wrappers) are available at some large grocery stores and at Chinese food shops.
Add a splash of green to any meal with this easy recipe for tender, fresh pea shoots.
Easy recipes for spring: Spinach recipes
Don't be intimidated by a soufflé; it's almost foolproof and takes little time to put together. Be sure that everybody is seated at the table when you take it out of the oven, as the dramatic height of a just-cooked soufflé diminishes quickly as it cools. The stems of young fresh bunches of spinach are tender; remove the roots only.
Featuring festive colours and a fresh, bracing edge, this salad is special without being fussy to prepare.
This dish goes well with steaks or chops. Or serve as a first course with crusty bread.
Easy recipes for spring: Arugula recipes
Peppery arugula is the main ingredient in this simple pasta. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if you like.
Rib eye, strip loin or tenderloin steak all work well in this fabulous lunch or supper salad.
Arugula loses most of its bite but none of its flavour when it is wilted in the hot risotto. Buy unsliced pancetta for this recipe, so you can dice it properly.
Easy recipes for spring: Tender greens and lettuce recipes
Spring dandelion greens have a pleasant bitterness and a rich taste that pairs well with other strong flavourings. If you can't find fresh dandelion leaves, use curly endive or chicory, instead.
These easy-to-make cannelloni are made with crespelle (crêpes), rather than pasta, which is just as traditional. Instead of dandelion greens, you could use one head of escarole or two or three bunches of fresh spring spinach.
Both the colour and the flavour of these simply seasoned shrimp balance the lovely spring-green relish.
If, by chance, you spread a few lamb's lettuce (mâche) seeds on your vegetable plot last autumn and you live in a warm part of Canada, you might have enough young lettuce plants to make a salad, for these tender, flavourful little lettuces come very early (they start growing under the last snow).
Prepare a full meal: Fresh spring menus
Fresh ingredients and fabulous new combinations give pizza-night suppers springtime pizzazz.
Show off a little with these new and unusual recipes for ham -- a traditional favourite for spring celebrations.