Asparagus – Green and White
You know it is spring when you start to see the Aussie asparagus coming into the markets.
For me asparagus bring back some childhood memories. I grew up in an Italian family where food was always at the centre of any family gathering. I can always remember having have asparagus done very simply – they were gently steamed and just dressed with olive oil and vinegar that my grandfather would make.
To this day it remains one of my favourite ingredients to add to a salad, throw on the barbecue and grill for a side with a steak, or have in a more traditional way with hollandaise over the top.
Zucchini flowers
A crowd favourite, and for good reason. Who doesn’t love a stuffed and fried zucchini flower?
Although you can now get zucchini flowers for most of the year as they are being more and more grown in hot houses to keep up with the yearly demand, Zucchini flowers’ prime time is in spring as the weather warms ups.
My favourite way of preparing these with spring peas and goats’ cheese, you make a mix from the peas and goats’ cheese, add in a little bit of mint and pipe the filling into a centre of the flower, coat the flower into tempura batter and fry until golden and crispy, a squeeze of lemon over the top.
Goats cheese
Although you can buy goats cheese all year, the prime milking season for goats is in the springtime, this is the time of year when the milk is richer due to better feed available to the herd, fresher and more nutrient rich grass foliage. You will always find a difference in flavour and texture of goat’s cheese through the year, Spring is when the cheese is a lot smoother, and the flavour is deeper.
Like the saying goes “you are what you eat” this saying applies for the ingredients we use, from Proteins, Vegetables, and dairy items.
I am a big fan of all goat’s cheese, but I must say a good white mould goat’s cheese is my go too item, I love me cheeses and having a goats cheese with a bit of honey on a lavosh is a simple favourite for me; or spread over a piece of sourdough with fresh sliced tomato salt and pepper.
Peas
You can generally find me running through the kitchens and grabbing a hand full of ingredients to snack on, peas are a favourite for me, and it is common to see me snacking on sugar snaps
Another versatile ingredient that really shows its prime in spring, sweet and delicious, a beautiful crunch – great for a snack, addition to a salad, a classic of peas and mint for a side to a lamb roast.
I love adding peas into Thai curries, the sweetness lends itself to that fresher style of curry with Thai basil, Makrut lime & lemongrass.
Feeling inspired to try some spring recipes using Laura’s favourite seasonal ingredients? We have you covered with these great recipes.