After a cold and long winter, you can finally get excited about the variety of spring vegetables and leafy greens available. Not to mention the cooking of healthier and tastier dishes!
You don’t believe that spring is just around the corner? Don’t look at the thermometer, but on the market stands, where you can find, by now, lots of spring vegetables. They look fresh, they smell amazing, and they’re inviting you to cook so many good things! When we’re saying good, we’re thinking not only about the taste of the final dishes but also about the health benefits of these spring vegetables. Here you go, some of our best recipes with spring vegetables and greens.
7 spring vegetables to cook with
1. Asparagus
Asparagus is harvested from March through June, depending on your region. It has vitamins A, C, E, K, and B6, as well as folate, iron, copper, calcium, protein, and fiber. It’s easier to prepare than you might think. Just steam, grill, or roast it!
Roasted Asparagus with Butter Fried Walnuts
Low in calories and with an abundance of health benefits, asparagus should always be considered as an option for a light meal, or a side for juicy meat. One idea of serving it is cooking it in butter, next to some walnuts.
Asparagus and Mozzarella Chicken Breast
After butterflying the chicken breast, we stuffed it with mozzarella and asparagus, coated it with a paprika-garlic-lemon zest mixture, and double-cooked it.
Creamy Potato and Asparagus Soup
Asparagus is usually used as a classy side for steaks, but we also recommend you try it in a creamy soup.
2. Beets
Fresh beets are often sold with their greens still attached. Choose small or medium-sized beets whose roots are firm, smooth-skinned and deep in color. Beetroots are a great source of fiber, folate, manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C. Also, beetroots and beetroot juice have been associated with improved blood flow, lower blood pressure, and increased exercise performance.
Beet Fritters
Inspired by the Swiss dish rosti, we bring you a nice appetizer to please your vegetarian friends for the holidays. These easy fritters are made with beets and potatoes, and they’re delicious served with heavy cream sauce on top.
Creamy Beet Soup
A healthy diet has to include lots of soups, so we prepared a delicious recipe to share with you today. The main ingredient of this dish is beetroot.
Berries, Beet and Yogurt Smoothie
Try this recipe: it combines fruits and vegetables together in high fashion. Mix them with Greek yogurt, for extra consistency! You can make many smoothies using other fruit and vegetables!
3. Leek
Leek is available year-round in most areas, but mostly in the springtime. That’s why you can use it in cold-weather dishes and light spring dishes. It has a mild, sweeter flavor, and can be added to soups, many sides, egg dishes, and savory tarts. When you buy it, the top green leaves should look fresh – avoid the leeks with wilted tops. Leeks are an excellent source of vitamin A, which aids vision and supports the immune system.
Creamy Chicken and Leek Pie
If you’re running out of ideas for lunch or dinner, this creamy chicken and leek pie should be the answer to all your prayers. Inside a warm, homemade dough you’ll find a delicious and creamy filling made of chicken, leek, butter, and spices.
Chicken Breast with Leek and Olives
This stew has chicken breast and leek as main ingredients. Then you add carrot, onion, olives, some lemon juice, and seasonings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFdDCyjR2sY
Ham, Leek, and Broccoli Quiche
There are lots of ingredients that make a fabulous quiche, so, for today you can start with a simple combo, with smoked ham, leek, broccoli, and lots of delicious cheese.
4. Lettuce
Lettuce starts coming into season in cooler climates (it grows through the winter in temperate and warmer areas). You can use spring vegetables to make salads, but keep in mind that lettuce is also good for soups or to replace bread in sandwiches. The minerals and vitamins in lettuce include calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc along with vitamins like thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin B6, C, A, E, and vitamin K.
Fried Halibut on Lettuce Salad
You can pair anything with a fresh lettuce salad, and a light yogurt dressing.
Fresh Fruit Salad with Lettuce and Kale
If you want to make a fruit-based salad but keep at bay the sweet factor, try adding some lettuce leaves and some kale. The result has a crunchy texture, while the sweetness in the fruit is dutifully balanced by the freshness of the leafy greens.
Chicken Meatballs and Lettuce Bites
Care for something healthy and tasty? Remove the bread from your sandwiches and try lettuce instead!
5. Spinach
Spinach season varies with your climate. It’s available year-round in temperate areas, summer and fall in cooler areas, fall through spring in warmer regions. Maybe Popeye knew that spinach is a super food loaded with tons of nutrients in a low-calorie package. It’s an excellent source of vitamin A, C, and K1, folate, iron, and calcium.
Spinach and Ricotta Muffins
Easy to make, so healthy and so delicious! All you have to do is to mix together baby spinach, eggs, and two types of cheese: ricotta and parmesan, and then bake everything.
Creamed Spinach with Fried Egg on Top
You can leave meat aside for awhile because we have a delicious vegetarian option for you. Try this creamed spinach, topped with a fried egg and you will feel as strong as Popeye the Sailorman!
Cheese and Spinach Omelet Pie
This rich spinach pie couldn’t taste fresher and more delicious. It has no added flour! You can serve it either hot or cold, and even take it with you to work.
6. Arugula
Also called rocket, arugula is a peppery, nutty-tasting type of cruciferous vegetable, often used in Italian, Moroccan, Portugal, and Turkish cuisines. This versatile leafy green is usually served raw, in salads, but it can also be cooked. Arugula is one of those spring vegetables low in sugar, calories, carbohydrates, and fat. It’s high in several vital nutrients, like calcium, potassium, folate, vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K.
Beef Steak with Arugula Pesto
This pesto replaces basil with arugula, and the result is a delicious peppery green sauce. Try it with a beef steak to freshen things up! You can add it to grilled vegetables or use it as a dip for French fries.
Sun-Dried Tomato and Arugula Pizza
We’ve left meat and mozzarella aside for this pizza. Instead, we’ve added crunchy cashew nuts, a bit of parmesan, and some fresh arugula leaves, which bring a more savory touch.
Cauliflower Tempura with Arugula Salad
We recommend a fresh salad with arugula and radishes as a side for any main dish. Sounds like something you should definitely try!
7. Peas
Thanks to canning and freezing foods, green peas became available year-round, but it’s still a spring vegetable. Peas are low-fat pulses but high in everything else. A cup of peas has less than 100 calories, but many proteins, fiber, and micro-nutrients.
Pork Ribs with Mashed Green Peas
Want a healthy side? Choose mashed green peas! Just mash boiled green peas with heavy cream, vegetable stock, salt, and pepper!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwGjxe_Cs7U
Zucchini and Pea Cream Soup
Few dishes can be so easily prepared as a cream soup. It’s all simmering and blending without any other effort involved. This cream soup is worth the try, not just because it’s ready in no time, but because it’s very healthy too. The veggies are cooked in stock without no drop of oil added.
Potato and Pea Lamb Stew
They say it’s better to prepare a stew the day before you actually eat it – the juices flow better, you know? Whatever the truth is, we used lamb for this one and cooked it with carrot, potatoes, and peas.
Read on:Â Shelf Life: How Long Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Last.
