By Heather Sperling
April 2007
On the palette of seasonality, green is certainly the color of
spring. In all but the warmest parts of the country, winter makes
its mark with dulled colors, depleted market shelves, and hearty
preparations of root vegetables, legumes, and the like. And then
spring bursts onto the scene with vibrant hues – from delicate,
light English pea to grassy, two-toned asparagus, inspiring pairings
and plating that celebrate its energy in both flavor and design
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Find
a Recipe
with seasonal ingredients:
Artichokes
•
Spring Onions •
Green
Garlic
Nettles
•
Asparagus •
Radishes
•
Peas
• Mint
continued.
Spring comes at a similar time in both San Francisco and Atlanta
– they share comparable winter climates and fertile ground
that yields favas, peas, asparagus, green garlic, and spring onions
in the first months of the year. These are the stars of the seasonal
recipes from chefs on both sides of the country – Phil West
at San Francisco’s Range draws inspiration from barely-dressed
artichokes,
caramelized spring
onions, fragrant green
garlic and stinging nettles,
using a minimum number of ingredients to achieve maximum flavor
and lightness. James Syhabout of PlumpJack Café
plays on the ubiquitous pairing of egg, asparagus and
ham with an artfully constructed dish of light yellow sabayon, fat
asparagus
spears, and a quenelle of ham hock and herb puree. On the
other side of the country, Drew Belline of Floataway Café
serves asparagus three ways – raw, blanched, pureed with tarragon
– and studded with seared scallops, bright d’Avignon
radishes and
lemon zest in what could be called, based on appearance, “Spring
in a Bowl.” And at Five and Ten and Park 75,
Chefs Hugh Acheson and Robert Gerstenecker pair creamy young peas
with sweet crustaceons and mint,
the first with peekytoe crab and crème fraiche, and the latter
with a seared langoustine and chewy Sardinian couscous.
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Farmers
Market near you
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