Spring is here to nudge you back outside and straight to the farmers market. There are bundles of taut chives still topped with blossoms, sweet and tender spears of asparagus, and creamy new potatoes all waiting to be snapped up. Here, we’ve gathered 10 new recipes that celebrate this transitional, transformational season overflowing with newly sprouted veggies.
To gently ease into the longer, brighter days ahead, try our dill-flecked, lighter-and-brighter take on chicken and biscuits. Embrace the joy of eating outside again with a porchside dinner featuring salmon coated with a glossy Dijon mustard and maple syrup glaze. There’s an embarrassment of produce-packed riches.
Baked Cheddar and Leek Pasta
To usher in the earliest days of spring, dig into a dish of this zippy mac and cheese spin-off. Leeks are sturdy enough to survive winter frosts, sprouting with a gradation of green colors and a mellow flavor all their own. Here, they’re slant-sliced into planks and baked with oversized noodles, all draped in a sharp cheddar sauce with a mustardy kick. Conchiglioni, a larger shell pasta, manages to nail the best of both texture worlds, staying tender when submerged and catching color and crispiness at the surface. Often stuffed with meat or cheese, they can hold plenty of sauce and even a hefty leek. Make sure to separate any stuck-together noodles before baking—they love to snuggle like nesting dolls. —Rebecca Firkser
One-Pan Herbed Chicken Biscuits
This warmer weather refresh of chicken and biscuits shakes up both the filling and topping for a lighter and brighter take on the classic. Lemon and mustard pair up to cut through the creamy sauce, studded with ground chicken, carrots, and celery. The biscuits, flecked with frilly sprigs of dill, are pulled together with sour cream, giving them tenderness and a mild tang. While most recipes dollop the biscuits on top, this dough is patted into a rough circle and scored into scone-like wedges. They bake into a graphic pattern that makes dishing up servings a piece of cake. —Jesse Szewczyk
Smoky Lamb With Spiced Yogurt
Coming together in just 30 minutes, this dinner can sidestep cutlery entirely in favor of warm pieces of torn pita. It’s the sort of easy, breezy meal we crave as the weather warms up. You’ll start by heating smoked paprika in hot oil to unleash its smoky bite before whisking it into rich Greek yogurt. The ground lamb (can be substituted for beef) is generously seasoned with cumin, whose earthy savoriness amps up the natural umami of the meat. To balance the heartiness, crunchy cucumbers and onions join tender leaves of parsley atop each bowl. For a burst of contrasting sweetness, toss in some pomegranate seeds along with a drizzle of hot honey and a tuft of fresh mint too. —J.S.
Chickpea and Onion Tachin With Herb Salad
Persian tachins often encase chicken or red meat within crisp-edged baked rice; this vegetarian version is chock-full of caramelized chickpeas and onions. The filling is bolstered with bouillon paste, warm spices, dried cherries (seek out tart but sweet ones or even cranberries work in a pinch), and tender herbs. It bakes between layers of parboiled rice that’s been bound with egg yolks, thick yogurt, and just a bit of mayo. Piled high with a bracingly fresh salad, it’s ideal for a shoulder season dinner party, when the calendar says spring but you haven’t put your sweaters away just yet. —R.F.
Green Eggs and Ham Frittata
Whether at a breakfast, brunch, or late-afternoon lunch, you’ll like these green eggs and ham here, there, and everywhere. The majority of the work happens in the blender, where nearly a full bunch of chives is blitzed into eggs to tint them a whimsical green color. Now is the time to forgo wilted grocery store herbs and spring for a bountiful bouquet at the farmers market instead. The taut, strawlike chives you find there may even be topped with budding mauve flowers that taste as beautiful as they look. Spare them from the blender and reserve a handful to scatter over your baked frittata. To keep things easy, serve straight from the skillet: Slice and remove clean wedges or go in with a large serving spoon to divvy up rustic scoops. —Inés Anguiano
Maple-Mustard Sheet-Pan Salmon
Flaky salmon, soft and creamy potatoes, and rosy radishes roast on the same baking sheet for a company-worthy dinner that won’t fill the sink with dirty dishes. Coating the salmon in a mixture of maple syrup and Dijon mustard lends it a savory sweetness and helps the fish develop a golden crust under the broiler. If you’ve never roasted radishes, you’re in for a treat. As they cook, their raw crunch relaxes into a tender texture similar to the spuds, while their peppery bite mellows. It’s a fun way to wow whomever you’re eating with. —J.S.
Chicken Pasta Primavera Al Limone
Pasta primavera, a 1970s classic tailored to the season’s harvest, is packed with produce and cloaked in a decadent cream sauce. Our version is similarly loaded with the veggies now flooding the markets: asparagus, green beans, and peas (we call for frozen for ease, but if you spot fresh, by all means!). The sauce gets the zest and juice of a whole lemon to brighten it all up, plus a spoonful of white miso melts in for a permeating savoriness. To turn it into a full meal, Parmesan-crusted chicken cutlets crown the skillet. Serve it up to a crowd for a spring holiday gathering or tuck into it for a family dinner to celebrate your warmer weather bounty. —J.S.
Spring Cod and Potato Chowder
With a spicy-sweet broth, fat pieces of white fish, and coins of petite potatoes, this feel-good bowl will satisfy from last snow to first bloom. While babysitting a bubbling pot is welcome in the depths of winter, this one comes together swiftly. To keep cooking time low, it starts with punchy aromatics (cilantro stems, white onion, cumin seeds, and jalapeños) heated through in a mix of butter and oil to unleash their flavor. The fragrant base quickly perks up store-bought broth. To finish, fish dropped into the aromatic, hot soup will gently poach in minutes as you chop some fresh garnishes for everyone to scatter on top. —R.F.
Shrimp Stir-Fry With Garlic Chives and Chiles
Compared with standard chives, garlic chives (also known as Chinese leeks) are longer and thicker, and, unlike their tubular cousins, feature a flat leaf. They boast, unsurprisingly, a distinctly garlicky taste, but with a mellower bite than their namesakes. Garlic chives are also more versatile (and less delicate) in that they can pull double duty as both a potent aromatic and a leafy green. In this recipe, they join juicy shrimp and thinly sliced jalapeños in a stir-fry that comes together in less time than it takes to cook rice. Your dinner plates will be scraped clean even faster, ready for seconds. —Hana Asbrink
Asparagus and Marinated Artichoke Galette
Bunches of earthy asparagus stand at attention on market shelves come spring, primed to go tender and sweet without losing their sculptural beauty. While there’s a time and a place for DIY dough, this halfway-homemade galette starts with frozen puff pastry so you can focus on the vegetable-studded filling. At the base is tangy cream cheese, seasoned with Pecorino Romano and garlic, plus a whisked-in egg to help it brown and puff up around the perky spring veg. While you may be tempted to pull it out of the oven when the top starts to brown, taking the pastry past light golden edges ensures a crispy crust that’s properly cooked all the way through. Just before serving, drop a tumbleweed of lemony arugula right on top of the galette; it makes for a laid-back presentation still far more exciting than a side salad. It’s a meal in its own right, but to stretch servings to 6 or 8, pair with roast chicken or grilled sausage. —R.F.