There is no more liberating time of the year than early Spring. Gone are the thick sweaters and clunky boots and our meal options easily follow suit by becoming lighter and simpler. It’s also a great time to “spring clean” the pasta in your pantry so I’ve created a full weeknight of dinner recipes featuring some of my favorite spring ingredients like peas, mint and green onions. It’s a great way to usher in this verdant season in a way that is delicious and easy on the wallet.
Pantry:
EVOO
Salt
Pepper
Pasta
Vinegar
Optional: old white wine
Shopping List:
Large bag of frozen peas
Fresh mint
Eggs
Parmesan
Pancetta
Burrata
Rustic boule
Kalamata olives
Mixed greens
Green onions
Lemons
Butter
Menu:
-Three P’s Pasta with peas, parmesan, prosciutto, mint and beurre blanc
-Peas with burrata and roasted olives with grilled bread
-Mixed greens and pea salad with torn mint and preserved lemon vinaigrette
-Spring miso and smashed pea soup with burnt scallions
-Bastardized carbonara with peas (mamma mia!)
All meals are method-based (no recipe needed) but if you get stuck you can easily Google some variation of each.
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What I’ve been up to in March:
Eating: Chicken orzo soup; beans with Fresno Chile; scallop crudo
Traveling to: Tulum; Santa Barbara; Costco
Reading: Time to Think; The Parenting Map; Women Talking; This Strange Garment
Listening: Hidden Brain; 10 Hours of Brown Noise
Watching: Mayor of Kingstown; The Mindy Project
Thinking about: Camille Paglia; vertical gardens