ESPEarly spring brings us fresh, seasonal produce like asparagus, peas, leeks, and greens, combined with light proteins. The key is to learn about these fresh, early-spring seasonal fruits and vegetable and get creative about how you can deliver that fresh goodness to the dinner table.
Top ideas include Sheet Pan Miso Salmon with Snap Peas, Lemon Chicken with Asparagus, Spring Veggie Risotto, and Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps. These dishes are bright, vibrant, and packed with nutrients, often utilizing quick cooking methods like roasting or stir-frying.
Here are a few main Spring harvest products:
• Leafy Greens: Spinach, kale, arugula, lettuce, Swiss chard, collard greens, and mustard greens are some of the first to be harvested, often starting in early March.
• Root Vegetables: Radishes (harvestable in 21-30 days), carrots, turnips, and beets thrive early in the season.
• Cruciferous Veggies: Broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts are hardy choices that handle early spring, sometimes even late, frosts.
• Alliums: Early Spring onions, garlic, and leeks are common.
• Specialty: Asparagus is a staple, popular early spring vegetable, along with green peas (both shelling and snow peas).
Sheet pan Lemon Chicken and Asparagus
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts - 4
2 tsp Herbs de Provence
1 clove garlic - minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice - from 1 lemon
2 tsp sea salt - or to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1.5 pounds asparagus - 1 bunch
1 lemon - cut into thin slices
Instructions
• Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place the chicken breasts evenly on the baking sheet and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the Herb de Provence, minced garlic, olive oil, honey or maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper until combined.
• Pour half of the mixture over the chicken breasts. Place the pan in the oven and cook until the chicken is almost done about 20 minutes.
• Toss the remaining Herbs de Provence mixture with the asparagus and set it aside.
• When the chicken is almost done, remove it from the oven, and set the oven to the broil setting. Place the asparagus around the edges.
• Pour any of the remaining sauce from the asparagus over the pan. Place a few lemon slices in and around the chicken and asparagus.
• Broil, (on the low setting) the chicken and asparagus until the asparagus is crisp tender and the chicken golden brown and no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes.
• Serve immediately.
