Spring Food Musts

 Spring is the time of longer and warmer days. Gone are heavy winter days and heavy winter food. It's time to celebrate with classics like lamb, asparagus and rhubarb , perfect for dinners and desserts. Think light. Think delicious.

Lamb is usually served all year round but it's most popular in the Spring thanks to Easter and Greek Easter. You could easily make a lamb stew with Spring vegetables. Use a boneless lamb shoulder and cook with, tomatoes carrots and petite pois or pearl onions. Red wine could be added along with the beef broth. The good thing about stew is that it can be made in an Insta Pot or crock pot  which leaves you free for a few hours.Another idea is cooking the meat in  herbs. Garlic and lemon are added for more flavor with such herbs as tarragon, dill and cilantro. Cumin and coriander seeds are also used. Greek Orthodox Easter is next week and there will be lamb served at almost all Greek homes. Try their version which is roasting a leg of lamb. Its first studded with garlic cloves and then generously sprinkled with a mix of  sea salt, pepper and paprika. Olive oil and lemon juice are then drizzled on it and then it's first braised and roasted.if the cut is too much then think about lamb chops. They can be marinated the same as the shoulder and sprinkled with oregano. You could easily serve these with crunchy and lemony Greek style roasted potatoes, 

Of course the best side is asparagus. This is a Spring must have and can be made a variety of ways. The best is with  the classic Hollandaise sauce. Home chefs always feel that this is hard sauce to create but it's really not. It's just combining egg yolks, lemon juice and a dab of Dijon mustard. Cayenne can be added for some heat but it's mot necessary. Melted butter is them streamed into the sauce and it's blended with an immersion blender. (you can use a regular one for it too).Another is Piedmontese style with the spears drenched in melted butter  and topped with sliced hard boiled eggs and Parmesan cheese. You can also grill them as well. Grilled asparagus is perfect with chicken or steak. Rhubarb is another culinary star of Spring. It's usually paired with strawberries but it's great on its' own. Stewing it into a compote is easy and it's a nice topping for vanilla ice cream.It;s slowly cooking chopped stalks with sugar and water. You can add a dash of cinnamon for more flavor. This veggie, similar to celery also makes for a good crisp or cobbler. These are easy desserts with mixing oatmeal, flour sugar and topping to form a tasty crust on top of the rhubarb. Strawberries can be added too for a variation. Serve any crisp or cobbler with freshly whipped cream for a down home but still fancy dessert.

Lamb, asparagus and rhubarb are the stars of the Spring table. They make the season even brighter and sunnier with their distinct flavors. Plan a dinner, make a dessert with these gems for a warm weather treat.