Spring Onion

Carrots love to burn when grilled over direct high heat; better to park them over a cooler spot on the grate and keep the cover closed if possible.

Ginger-roasted cherry tomatoes, skillet-charred snap peas and scallions, and plenty of fresh basil and mint make this lighter pasta salad eminently craveable.

How to choose corn: Look for tight, squeaky, green husks and rows of kernels that feel taut and full when you run your hands over the cobs.

Japanese shichimi togarashi is a blend of seven seasonings including chile, orange zest, and sesame seeds that can be found at Asian grocers.

Fat asparagus stalks won’t fall through the grill grates—and they can char without becoming soft and stringy.

When I put these ingredients in my rice cooker, I knew the flavors would complement each other, but I wondered what the dish would look like. It was lovely! The soft, melting goat cheese mingled with the asparagus and creamy eggs. The frittata makes a great light supper or lunch dish; serve it with a fruit salad.

My favorite recipe that I've ever posted on the blog is my Four Corners lentil soup, and it remains the most frequently cooked dish in my kitchen. It is so fast and simple to make, really inexpensive, and uses ingredients that are all found in the pantry. It freezes well, too, so I often make a double batch and store some away for when I need a wholesome meal in a hurry. And why the name "Four Corners"? Besides being my favorite soup, it is also much loved by many people I know all around the world. From the busy streets of Singapore to the remote wilderness of northern Ontario, from the scorched deserts in the American Southwest to the rainy shores of Denmark, this soup really has traveled the four corners of the Earth! Highly nutritious and packed with flavor, this lentil soup is a crowd-pleaser that will warm the heart of anyone you serve it to.

With different girls

This recipe is inspired by ones that use flanken, a cut of beef from the chuck end of short ribs. In Jewish custom, the meat is boiled and served with horseradish. Our version uses braised boneless ribs and pairs them with earthy vegetables.

Stir-fry fresh albacore tuna, plump sugar snap peas, and thin slices of green onions, carrot, and red bell pepper, then serve over brown rice.

Bursting with Italian flavor, this frittata is equally at home at brunch or dinner.

This dish is an excellent accompaniment to almost any Asian entrée, such as Chicken with Ginger and Snow Peas (page 157) or Pacific Rim Flank Steak (page 180). Add some chicken, shrimp, beef, or pork cooked without salt to transform this into a main dish.

Celery and green onions give this versatile salad a crunch and a fresh taste that will make you want to use it as often as you can—to stuff a tomato, fill half a pita, or provide protein on a salad plate.

Serve this delightful Indian-inspired raita (RI-tah) to cool down a spicy entrée or use it to top Wine-Poached Salmon (page 109).

This tart with a lattice top is a real showstopper. Your guests’ eyes will light up when it’s brought to the table. Known as a torta rustica in Italy, versions are served around Easter in celebration of the season. The filling is traditionally spinach, though I’ve incorporated other greens for more contrast in flavors. Other versions can have sausage, eggplant, and peppers as the filling.

(Can be prepared ahead of time.)

Pork loin is a lean, delicate cut of meat compared to, say, a big, fatty chop, and this recipe is all about maximizing its taste and preserving its moisture. Applying the mustard marinade twice and roasting slowly with butter and herbs will simultaneously infuse the meat with complex flavor and help protect its precious internal juices. It’s very important to use a roasting rack, which helps the air circulate, resulting in even cooking.

This is the type of salad my mom used to make—unfussy and delicious. It’s best with fresh spring potatoes and onions, but it hits the spot any time of year. While I love drinking dry white Alsatian whites, I enjoy making this salad with a good Sancerre.

In late spring, when California asparagus are still available and the Cakebread garden is yielding the year’s first onions, Brian makes this delicate pizza bianca (a “white pizza,” or pizza without tomato sauce). The fresh-dug onions haven’t been cured yet, so they don’t have papery skins, and their flavor is mild. Many supermarkets sell “spring onions” that look like thick scallions with a bulbous root end. They would work in this recipe, as would leeks or even cured yellow onions, but uncured onions have the most delicate taste. Choose a fresh ricotta without pectin or other stabilizers. The Bellwether Farms ricotta from neighboring Sonoma County is our favorite.

This is a classic combination of Italian spring vegetables, but it’s also a template for stewing any fresh veggies you like in olive oil. If you cannot get small artichokes—those so small they have no choke, so you can simply trim and quarter them—use frozen artichoke hearts. If you cannot get favas, use limas; here, too, frozen are okay, and the same with peas. This stew makes a good sauce for cut pasta, like penne. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: This is nearly a universal recipe; almost anything you can think of will work here, from spinach to potatoes to asparagus, as long as you adjust the cooking time accordingly. Mix and match as you like.