On Monday, as I took a beat from gazing up at the obscured afternoon sun on the east side of Central Park, I realized something. The cherry blossom trees and the eastern redbuds that dot the landscape had finally begun flowering, their blush blooms dancing like tulle skirts in the breeze. When did that happen?
That same wonder struck me as I exited the park. Are those tulips? Daffodils? Spring comes every year on a relatively reliable schedule, and yet it always catches me off guard. Get me to a market, stat, for I am behind schedule on my pea and artichoke and radish and rhubarb consumption!
It is now that I run through my spring eating bucket list, for the season feels so fleeting and there’s much cooking and eating to do. New to that list is Melissa Clark’s one-pan recipe for creamy artichokes and peas (above), a stew that is at once bright and comforting and perfect for April’s many rainy evenings. If the spring produce is slow to roll into your market, or you’re elsewhere in the world where these vegetables aren’t in season, sulk not — Melissa’s recipe calls for canned artichokes and frozen peas, so you can reliably make it year-round.
One-Pan Creamy Artichokes and Peas
More peas — and soft herbs! — please. Clare de Boer heard my cries and answered them with this pistachio-colored pea and ricotta frittata. (Say that five times, it’s fun.) It’s this time of year when I feel the urge to host a slow Sunday brunch, and I can think of no better centerpiece for such an occasion.
Kay Chun’s grilled tofu salad, dressed in a vibrant lemon-miso vinaigrette, helps me cross snap peas off my list. I might even swap out the zucchini for something more of the moment, like asparagus.
On to radishes, then. Perhaps something like Colu Henry’s white beans with radishes, miso and greens, in which their crunch and peppery edge stand out among the softer backdrop of canned cannellinis. Or Melissa’s sugar snap pea salad with radishes, mint and ricotta salata, a real hat trick of springtime cooking.
But I’m maybe most excited for rhubarb, ruby-red and ephemeral. With it in hand, Melissa’s rhubarb custard bars are in order, as is David Tanis’s rhubarb crumble and Naz Deravian’s khoresh rivas, a savory Iranian rhubarb stew prepared traditionally with red meat but made vegetarian here with the help of plump butter beans.
I must leave you there. I’m running out of time!
