Laura Dart March is all about doing the most with some of the least expected ingredients. Produce like green onions, leeks, and wild mushrooms are at their peak right now and should be scooped up by the bunches to be stretched for a few meals. Try adding wild mushrooms […]
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March is all about doing the most with some of the least expected ingredients. Produce like green onions, leeks, and wild mushrooms are at their peak right now and should be scooped up by the bunches to be stretched for a few meals. Try adding wild mushrooms to a pot roast on the weekend when you have the time to cook something for a few hours and can have a glass of a citrusy wine-based punch in hand.
Crisp up some more mushrooms later in the week and toss them into a warm chicken salad, mixed with goat cheese and balsamic for a flavorful lunch. Green onions are great for imparting big flavors into simple sauces. Try them charred and mixed into a cooling yogurt sauce spooned over a spiced salmon; or combined with leeks and chives on top of a grilled pizza.
Take advantage of the variety of peppers that are in season by adding some spicy serranos to your next cocktail hour at home. Spicy margaritas made with fresh pepper would make a more-than-ideal accompaniment to a taco Tuesday get-together. Satisfy everyone’s palate with a vegetarian-friendly filling of potato and seed chorizo.
Radishes will also be available in abundance through the month. Recently, I’ve been dipping them in fresh butter with a sprinkle of sea salt alongside a glass of wine as a pre-dinner snack, though peak season radishes really shine when roasted in brown butter, chile, and honey and served as a sturdy side.
Get adventurous with your approach to ingredients like mustard greens, fingerling potatoes, and more through the month with the recipes below.
Salads and Starters
Mushroom Croquetas
These croquetas burst with flavor when a variety of woodsy and fresh mushrooms, like chanterelles and morels, are combined in the filling. Although you can fry these little fritters a few hours ahead and reheat them for 10 minutes in a 350°F oven, they’re crunchiest and taste freshest when deep-fried closer to serving.
Roasted Asparagus with Grapefruit Sabayon
Although mousselike sabayon is usually eaten sweetened as a dessert, it can also be a savory sauce as shown in this recipe which combines two seasonal items—grapefruit and asparagus.
Warm Chicken and Sautéed Mushroom Salad
“My family loves salads for weeknight dinners,” says reader Marilyn Ritchie. Inspired by a recipe for warm mushroom dressing, Ritchie added chicken, goat cheese, and extra balsamic vinegar to come up with this luxurious main dish. When she wants to splurge, she uses shiitakes.
Roasted Radishes with Brown Butter, Chile, and Honey
“Raw radishes and fresh butter are a classic pairing, but here we cook the two together until toasty and nutty,” says chef and founder Joshua McFadden of Ava Gene’s in Portland. “A splash of vinegar, a pinch of chile, and a drizzle of honey create a delicious tension that makes this dish unexpectedly satisfying.”
Asparagus, Spring Onion, and Morel Mushroom Sauté
Sweet asparagus and spring onions go so well with the woodsy flavor of morels. All you need is a bit of butter and some crème fraîche to finish the dish. If you can find fresh morels, definitely splurge on them; the flavor is unparalleled.
Braised Mustard Greens with Spring Onions
Meltingly tender, these mustard greens get a little snap from a drizzle of cider vinegar and a good quantity of spring onions. These onions resemble green onions, but the greens are thicker and the bulbs much larger; also, they have fairly sharp, bracing flavor that mellows when cooked. If you can’t find them, use a triple amount of green onions (scallions) instead.
Green Salad with Almonds, Charred Onion, and Pomegranates
Little gems are lining farmers market booths each week in a variety of colors, some with pink and purple speckled leaves, others offering sharp emerald hues. This recipe mixes them with a soft dressing and pomegranetes, which you can still spot in season if you’re lucky.
Little Gems with Carrot Borani, Pistachio, and Dill
Crisp lettuces like little gem (a miniature romaine) are often served with creamy dressings. Here, the dressing has been deconstructed; the vinegar and oil lightly coat the leaves and vegetables, while borani, a creamy Iranian-style yogurt dip, creates a great dip for the sturdy leaves.
Radishes, Fresh Homemade Butter, and Salt
This classic French hors d’oeuvre could not be easier to make, and it’s a glorious appetizer or snack when radishes are at their freshest.
Main Dishes
Chicken Fricassee with Parsley Roots and Chanterelle Mushrooms
In this French-inspired recipe, the chicken is braised in white wine. A creamy sauce is created by combining the reduced juices and thickening them with egg yolks and crème fraîche. Once it’s cooked, the parsley root (ask your local farmers market vendor where you can find some) or turnips become tender yet firm.
Carne Asada with Guacachile
This tender steak is brightened with a sauce of fresh herbs combined with charred jalapeno and onion. Spring onions and broccolini both maintain their tenderness and shape after being thrown on the grill and are great when dipped in the herbaceous sauce drizzled on the steak.
Grilled Mussels with Cilantro Bath
Chef Christian Graves, from Jsix Restaurant in San Diego, loves how well the grilled flavor of the mussels pairs with the coolness of the cucumber and the spicy hit of the chiles. He prefers Corno di Toro chiles for his recipe, but you can also use Fresnos.
Chorizo, Red Pepper, and Potato Galette with Arugula
The beauty of galettes is they are no-fuss and have a free-form shape that doesn’t need any special kind of pan. Load it up with a variety of peppers and potatoes for a brighter filling.
Grilled Salmon with Sumac Oil and Green Onion Yogurt
The richness of king salmon here is brightened by the tart sumac spices packed on and the cooling yogurt sauce spooned on top, which is deepened by charred green onions.
Grilled Chicken Kebabs with Romesco Sauce
Romesco sauce has its roots in the Spanish province of Catalonia. Although the mixture has lots of variations, most combine roasted red peppers, nuts, garlic, and crusty bread to make a thick sauce that often tops grilled fish. Here, we use it to marinate chicken for an easy weeknight dinner.
Potato and Seed Chorizo Tacos
This recipe from Los Angeles restaurant Damian shows that vegan can also mean insanely delicious. The seed mixture comes together with a blend of chiles, roma tomatoes, onion, and garlic to create a sauce that binds the pumpkin and sunflower seeds. This mix then coats boiled fingerling potatoes to create the base of the taco filling.
Five-Pepper Steak
A variety of peppers—fresh, jarred, and ground—make this dish dance with flavor, though not with heat (it’s only mildly spicy). All of the peppers can be found at well-stocked grocery stores: Find piquillos with jarred peppers, peppadews at the olive bar, and smoked paprika in the spice aisle.
Grilled Four-Onion Pizzas
This pizza showcases the best of the allium family—from the sharp top notes of fresh chives to the deep flavors of sautéed leeks.
Pot Roast with Wild Mushrooms and Fresh Thyme
Your pot roast will be anything but boring with this fabulous recipe. Wild mushrooms, fresh thyme, and orange peel really punch up the flavor.
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