Looking Forward to Spring Delicacies

As March leaves like a Lion it’s hard to think about warmer weather ahead, yet April is the start for our CSA’s Spring Treat share.  I can’t wait.

Looking back to last year, we started our share with locally grown greens, including overwintered spinach which is about as sweet as it is possible for spinach to be.  Other great treats that start off our spring share often include kale, lettuces, radishes, baby bok choi (also called pac choi), arugula and microgreens to add healthful goodness to salads and main dishes.

In anticipation of spring greens, I’ve collected some favorite recipes to link to.   I’m including some favorites for asparagus although I don’t expect that in my share until May.

Ideas for Spinach: We love spinach salads and one of our favorites is incredibly simple: spinach, toasted pecans, crumbled goat cheese and mandarin orange segments (either fresh or canned). Topped with your favorite vinaigrette this is a great addition to any meal.

We’re also fans of cooked spinach and years ago we found a recipe for spinach with pine nuts and raisins.  You can either Google the contents to find a recipe or check out this one from Serious Eats.

If you’re fortunate enough to get an abundance of greens – more than you can consume in salads — then you may want to try Utica Greens. This recipe is adapted from one served at the Chesterfield Restaurant in Utica, NY.  We’ve further adapted the recipe to use less cheese and we skip the blanching the greens and instead wilt them in the pan where we also sauté the prosciutto, cherry peppers and garlic.  You’ll have to adjust the peppers to your taste and the recipe, as written, can seem really hot and really salty if you’re not an avid salt user (one reason we cut down on the cheese.)

If you’re lucky enough to score some baby bok choi give this sautéed Baby Bok Choy recipe a try.  It’s simple but flavorful with ginger root, red-pepper flakes, soy sauce, sesame oil and (your preference) chicken stock or water.

Then there’s asparagus season.  We are so fortunate to have great asparagus grown here and one of our favorite ways to serve it is chilled with a sesame vinaigrette.

Those are a few of our favorite recipes for spring that we’re looking forward to having again! It’s such a wonderful taste sensation to be able to eat fresh, locally grown produce after a long winter.