Smart Strategies for Spring Meals

Appears in

Published 2015

The best way to highlight tender spring vegetables is to blanch them—dunk them in a pot of boiling water until tender-crisp (usually 1-2 minutes) and then plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and dress with vinaigrette.
Tender herbs—like anise-like tarragon, aromatic lemon thyme, tangy dill, and oniony chives—are great complements to spring vegetables. Consider planting small pots of these essential herbs and keeping them on your kitchen windowsill.
Handle spring’s leafy greens with a light hand and they’ll stay fresh longer. To wash bunches of beet greens, lettuces, and chard, untie them, plunge them in a clean sink of cool water, swish to remove any soil or pests, and then spin them dry in a salad spinner. Store washed greens in the vegetable crisper in plastic bags with a few paper towels inside to wick away moisture; use within 1 week.
Sprightly citrus zest brings out the lush, grassy flavors of spring meals. To get every last drop of flavor from citrus zest, use a sharp rasp grater and hold the fruit over the food to capture the essential oils that are released as you grate.

Become a Premium Member to access this page

Already a member?

Best value

The licensor does not allow printing of this title