Five Ways to Use These Five Spring Vegetables

April showers bring May flowers – and easy-to-use, delicious spring vegetables! 

Vegetables are the foundation of traditional diets around the world, from the Mediterranean, Africa, Latin America and Asia. To emphasize just how easy it is to make sure vegetables make it to your plate, we pulled some of our favorite, outside-the-box methods of putting these five spring flavors to full use from our “Twelve Ways to Use Vegetables” book: 

Artichokes

1. Whole, Boiled: Rinse the artichokes under cold running water. Cut about an inch straight across off the top and remove most of the stem, making an even cut to help them stand upright. Use kitchen shears to snip the thorns off the petal tips. Spread the petals slightly apart, rub all cut parts with a lemon to help them stay green, and add them to a large pot of salted water. To keep them submerged, place a smaller pot lid on top of them. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size. They’re done when you can easily pierce the stem end with a sharp knife. Remove from the water with tongs, drain upside down, and serve in bowls with your choice of dipping sauces (herb butter, balsamic vinegar & mustard, tzatziki, etc.).
2. Edible Bowls: Scoop out the middles and fuzzy chokes of cooked artichokes. Fill the “bowl” with bean dip or guacamole, and use the petals as dippers.
3. Whole, Braised: Arrange artichokes upright in a slow cooker, sprinkle with garlic, olive oil and salt. Add a mixture of white wine and water to a depth of 2 inches and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, depending on their size, until the leaves can be removed easily.
4. Side Dish: Mash jarred or fresh artichoke hearts in with potatoes.
5. Breakfast: Chop and mix jarred or fresh artichoke hearts in with an omelet, quiche, or frittata.

Arugula

1. Breakfast: Add a handful of chopped arugula to omelets, scrambled eggs or tofu scrambles.
2. Saucy Swap: Substitute arugula for some, or all, of the basil when making homemade pesto.
3. Seafood: Sauté shrimp or scallops in a little olive oil until cooked through. Toss in some halved cherry tomatoes and a handful or two of arugula.
4. Pizza: Top homemade pizza with arugula for the last few minutes of cooking time.
5. Arugula Salad: Top a bed of baby arugula with any of the following combinations, and drizzle with your favorite dressing:
   1. Sliced cantaloupe, blueberries and a few strips of prosciutto
   2. Sliced apples, radishes and shredded red cabbage
   3. Sliced beets, oranges and toasted almond slivers
   4. Sliced fennel and strawberries
   5. Sliced grapes and apples, toasted walnuts and crumbled feta

Asparagus

1. Roasted: Arrange the spears in a greased baking dish, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 400°F for about 10 minutes. Serve with hummus.
2. Breakfast: Cover a lightly baked puff pastry with sautéed asparagus, chopped garlic and cracked eggs. Bake for 12 minutes and sprinkle with goat cheese as it comes out of the oven. Cut into squares.
3. Quick lunch: Arrange several tortillas on a baking sheet, cover with cheese, broil for several minutes until the cheese melts, and roll each one around several cooked asparagus spears.
4. Creamy soup: Sauté an onion in a little olive oil in a large saucepan. Add 4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock, a bunch of chopped asparagus, and a peeled, diced potato. Simmer for 30 minutes and purée in a food processor. Return to the saucepan, stir in a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Swap for Lettuce: Include shaved, raw asparagus in a veggie wrap as a crunchy stand-in for lettuce.

Beets

1. Spicy & Earthy Salad: Toss grated, raw, or sliced cooked beets, with finely sliced red onion, and dress with red wine vinaigrette and a bit of Dijon mustard. Serve with or without greens.
2. Picnic Swap: Replace half the potatoes in your favorite potato salad recipe with golden beets.
3. Great with Grains: Stir chopped, roasted beets, crumbled feta, and finely chopped beet greens into cooked farro or brown rice, and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice.
4. Creamy Sauce: Stir grated, cooked beets, minced garlic, fresh dill or thyme, and salt and pepper into plain Greek yogurt for a colorful sauce to serve with grains or veggie burgers.
5. Delicious Dessert: Poach diced beets in honey (1 part honey:3 parts beets:6 parts water) and simmer on low heat until the beets are tender, and the liquid is reduced to a syrup. Serve over plain Greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

Peas

1. On Toast: Combine lightly cooked peas with garlic, chopped mint, olive oil and salt in a food processor to make a thick purée. Spread on crackers, toasted baguette slices or tortillas.
2. Fast Lunch: Combine diced carrots, diced tomatoes and peas, toss in a vinaigrette, and top with diced parsley or basil.
3. Kid-Friendly: Add peas to your favorite mac and cheese recipe just before serving.
4. Mediterranean Favorite: Sauté a sliced onion in olive oil in a large skillet, add peas and cooked pasta, top with 2 beaten eggs and Parmigiano Reggiano, and toss over medium heat until hot.
5. Dash of Color: Add peas to mashed potatoes or cauliflower.

Vegetables offer up a world of opportunity in the kitchen, and it’s the perfect time to freshen up your dishes with these fresh spring options.

Plus, there’s more where this came from! “12 Ways to Use Vegetables” offers inspiration and instruction on using up vegetables year-round, from artichokes to zucchini. That was the motivation behind its creation: to inspire you to experiment in the kitchen, and in the process discover that vegetables are tasty and versatile foods, easy to use in at least a dozen different ways. 

With plenty of creative ideas at your fingertips, you won’t have to worry about delicious seasonal produce going to waste, and you can make your food dollars stretch further. This culinary resourcefulness is a cornerstone of heritage diets around the world, and one that is beautifully suited to modern living as well.

If you’re ready to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and try all sorts of new ideas for veggie-packed breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks, check out “12 Ways to Use Vegetables” in paperback or e-book format.