The Recipe Edit: Four Dishes for What's in Season Now
Our March Market Guide mapped the produce worth paying attention to this month: artichokes arriving at peak, asparagus gaining momentum, ramps and morels making their first, fleeting appearances. These four recipes are what to do with all of it.
Each one is fully plant-based, and treats the ingredient as the point of the dish rather than a supporting player.
Lemon and Olive Oil Braised Artichokes
For: artichokes (peak now)
A Greek ala Polita preparation, and possibly the most elegant thing you can do with a whole artichoke. The hearts are trimmed and simmered slowly with sliced shallots, young carrots, and coriander seeds in a bath of olive oil, lemon juice, and water. Once completely tender, they are seared cut-side down in a hot pan until golden. The braising liquid is reduced with a final squeeze of lemon and poured over the finished artichokes.
What makes this worth the effort is the layering. The artichoke absorbs the aromatics during the braise, then develops an entirely different character from the sear. Warm or at room temperature, with bread that deserves good olive oil. The kind of cooking that turns a single vegetable into something you would open a bottle of wine for.
Vegan Ramp Pesto
For: ramps (first sightings, late March)
Ramps appear at market for a matter of weeks, and pesto remains the most intelligent way to honor that window. This version blanches the greens for thirty seconds before blending with pine nuts, nutritional yeast, basil, and olive oil. The blanching is the detail that matters: it tempers the raw intensity, deepens the color, and gives the pesto a longer, more graceful life in the refrigerator.
On toast, through pasta, over anything that has been near an oven. It also freezes beautifully, which means a single batch made in late March carries the season well into May. Vegan as written, nothing to modify.
Farro with Morel Mushrooms, Asparagus, and Tarragon Gremolata
For: morels (first sightings) and asparagus (building toward peak)
A spring grain bowl with genuine substance. Semi-pearled farro cooked in its own liquid, layered with morels and cremini mushrooms sauteed until they begin to crisp, asparagus blanched until just tender, and a gremolata of parsley, tarragon, garlic, and lemon zest. Toasted hazelnuts close the dish.
Two of March's most anticipated ingredients, neither overhandled. The morels hold their texture against the grain, the asparagus keeps its bite, and the gremolata lifts everything without competing. If fresh morels prove elusive, dried morels rehydrated in hot water are a worthy stand-in. The soaking liquid becomes part of the cooking.
Vegan Risotto with Miso and Spring Vegetables
For: asparagus and English peas (first arrivals)
Miso accomplishes what dairy traditionally does in a risotto: it delivers depth, body, and that particular richness that makes the dish feel complete. Asparagus is seared until caramelized, shiitake mushrooms are cooked alongside, and English peas are folded in at the very end so they hold their sweetness intact.
Eight ingredients, classic technique, a shifted foundation. Miso dissolved into the broth gives the rice a savory complexity that feels considered rather than complicated. The recipe for when the first peas appear at market and the evening calls for something that quietly announces the season has changed.
Notes from HERBE.
The strongest seasonal cooking does not demand elaborate technique. It demands timing, thoughtful sourcing, and the willingness to let an ingredient lead. Everything above can be made in under an hour and is better when the produce is at its absolute peak.
Cover Image: DITTE BLOHM
