The snow has melted, the grey skies are clearing, and the green shoots of spring are beginning to emerge. After a long hibernation, we are finally ready to step outside again, and there’s no better way to celebrate the turn of the season than foraging for your dinner. Not only do you get to spend time outdoors, but you also get to taste the results of your efforts in every impossibly fresh bite.
Whether you have stumbled upon a patch of morel mushrooms, fiddleheads ferns or wild ramps, here are 6 delicious recipes that celebrate the best that spring has to offer.
Photo by James RansomRecipe: Fiddlehead Frittata opens in a new tab
This no-fuss frittata makes the most of these spiraled, earthy gems. Sauté your garlic, morels and fiddleheads, pour in your eggs and cheese, and broil, for a dish that is perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack. Delicious hot, warm, or cold.
Photo by Sarah ShatzRecipe: Wild Ramp Pesto opens in a new tab
Fiery and bright, this pesto is creamier than expected, despite a relatively small amount of olive oil and parmesan. It has a lovely mild sweetness from the combination of tender ramp bulbs and walnuts.
Photo by Sarah ShatzRecipe: Morel Crostini opens in a new tab
This recipe adds brightness to these spring treasures by sautéing them in butter with lemon juice, leeks and herbs. Topping homemade crostini with the morels and some soft goat cheese means simple, fresh cooking at its best.
Photo by Gabriela HermanRecipe: Stinging Nettle Pasta opens in a new tab
Stinging nettles may sound unpalatable, but if you know how to prepare them opens in a new tab they taste good, and are nutritional powerhouses. Adding stinging nettles to homemade pasta dough is a stroke of brilliance, lending color, flavor, and nutrition.
Photo by Sarah ShatzRecipe: Sweet and Spicy Pickled Ramps opens in a new tab
Ramps make for terrific condiments, and it turns out, a terrific pickle. Here the sweet pickling liquid eases their feisty onion flavor and the spices hang in the back, there to support and nothing more. If you have a bunch of ramps and 10 minutes to spare, you can have a plentiful jar of ramp pickles at your fingertips.
Photo by Caroline WrightRecipe: Skillet Roasted Chicken Thighs with Dandelion Greens and Baby Carrots opens in a new tab
This is the epitome of an honest dinner, cooked simply, from only four ingredients that took up space in the refrigerator. The combination of well-seasoned roast chicken, tender baby carrots, slightly wilted dandelion greens and a squeeze of lemon juice shouts of spring’s arrival in a clear tenor to the tune of no dishes or leftovers.
What other tasty harbingers of spring are making their way to your dinner table? Share your adventures in the comments section below.
