The Spring Green Special
A leafy link to the coming season
Spring greens nicely bridge the gap between winter and spring cooking. They’re generally available for the first few months of the year and represent the best of both seasons. They’ve got the complex herbal flavour-profile of darker winter greens, but the simple sweetness and body I associate with spring cabbage varieties. They also won’t dissipate into the ether when cooked like leafier greens will - spring greens can retain a good amount of bite which means they work really well as a primary element in dishes.
Spring greens come from a cabbage cultivar that’s extremely winter hardy and harvested young, while their leaves are loose and tender. It’s closely related to collard greens and curly kale. You might find them in shops sold as spring greens, baby leaf greens or simply greens. Here are some great ways to make them really sing.
Fregola & white bean soup, spring green pesto
Recipe
Makes 4-6 portions
4 shallots, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed or finely grated
1 tsp fennel seeds
6 sprigs thyme, picked
200g fregola or a similar short pasta
1l veg stock
2x400g tins white/cannellini beans or 1 large jar (no need to drain)
200g spring greens, washed any hard part of stalk cut out and the leafy part roughly chopped 2x2cm
Juice of 2 lemons
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
For the pesto:
200g spring greens, washed with the hardest parts of the stalk trimmed away
3 cloves garlic
100g grated Parmesan
100g toasted walnuts, pine nuts or almonds
100g olive oil
Zest of a third of a lemon
salt
Place a large saucepan over a medium heat with a little olive oil. Add the shallots and sweat until softened, then stir in the garlic, thyme and fennel seeds. Stir for a couple of minutes, then stir in the fregola, beans (no need to drain) and veg stock
Bring to a simmer, then stir in the spring greens. Simmer until the greens and pasta are tender, stirring regularly and vigorously as it cooks. Turn off the heat and leave to stand for at least five minutes
Meanwhile make the pesto. Place a wide pan over a medium heat with a little oil. Add the spring greens and stir until wilted and tender - if they take on too much colour add a little splash of water and continue. Place the wilted greens in the food processor with all the other pesto ingredients. Blend to a smoothish pesto consistency
Stir two thirds of the pesto into the soup and season to taste with the lemon juice and salt. Spoon into bowls and dollop over the remaining pesto
Spring green, potato & feta frittata
Breakfast, lunch, dinner or the fridge-filler/ packed lunch of dreams.
Recipe
Makes 6-8 portions
