Rhubarb

Too Many Cooks: Spring Harvest Edition

by:
April 11, 2014

You'll be hearing from the staff at Food52 in Too Many Cooks, our group column in which we pool our answers to questions about food, cooking, life, and more. 


Now that spring has finally sprung, it’s time to celebrate. 

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Our first order of the season? A trip to the farmers market, filled with bright, springy things that make our hearts go pitter-patter. Some of us are fiddlehead fans; others are staunchly loyal to legumes -- but no matter the vegetable you hold dearest, we can all get behind a colorful, springtime feast. So this week, we rounded up our team and asked: 

What are you most excited to cook with this spring? 

Are you team ramps or team asparagus? Rooting for the seasonal underdog? Tell us in the comments! 

Ramp and Pea Shoot Crostini on Food52

Amanda: Just made smoked ham and pea shoot sandwiches for my kids’ lunch, so I’ll go with the underdog! 

Merrill: I love a good pea shoot, but this year I think I'm most looking forward to peas themselves.

Pasta with Peas and Scallions Bathed in Cream

Linday-Jean: Garlic scapes and rhubarb

Brette: Grilled favas

Lauren K: Rhubarb for the cordial I make! Fava beans in salads, in pasta, puréed. Garlic scapes for eating and for gifting to people as bouquets. (Weird? That's okay.) Peas, asparagus, greens, ramps, everything everything everything. 

Gabriella: I'm with Lauren on the rhubarb cordial. For vegetables, I'm definitely on team asparagus. And don't forget about that one week when fiddlehead ferns are in season.

More: Tuck your fiddleheads into a springy frittata.

Posie: Peas! I usually just eat them raw in the pod by the handful, but my mom makes a really incredible pasta with peas, bacon, and cream sauce. It sounds heavy, but tastes light.

Lauren L: +1 garlic scapes for bouquets and tablescaping, and for pesto on pasta and pizza. +1 Genius grilled fava beans. And all of the mushrooms.

Lauren L: I take it all back -- I just remembered baby artichokes

What's in your farmers market haul this spring? Tell us in the comments!

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A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).

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See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Droplet
    Droplet
  • CarlaCooks
    CarlaCooks
  • Edie
    Edie
  • Alexandra G
    Alexandra G
  • AntoniaJames
    AntoniaJames
Lisa is a noodle fiend and a chocolate hoarder. She probably wants to make you cookies.

7 Comments

Droplet April 12, 2014
It was nettle top soup for me this week.
 
CarlaCooks April 12, 2014
I'm off to the farmer's market today here in Copenhagen and am hoping to find some ramps, asparagus, and rhubarb! I'm having friends over for dinner and hope to have an early spring meal: that lovely pasta with peas that's posted above (though I'll replace the spring onions with ramps if I can find them), grilled flank steak rolled with spinach and goat cheese, and roasted asparagus.
 
CarlaCooks April 12, 2014
Oh, I forgot to mention dessert: Mr. Hirschfeld's rhubarb-ginger downside-up oatmeal cake! Such a lovely cake.
 
Edie April 11, 2014
In my home country the Netherlands I definitely would have said turnip-tops. Now living in California and finding fava beans so early as well as parslune really convinced me that spring is here and won't go away.
 
Alexandra G. April 11, 2014
Asparagus! Although I'll have to hunt for ramps as I've never had them before.
 
AntoniaJames April 11, 2014
My blueberries are about two months early, due to the mild winter here, so I'm munching on slightly tart, crisp, juicy, flavorful berries, right off the bushes lining my front walkway. Heavenly. ;o)
 
ghainskom April 11, 2014
Rhubarb