Spring Harvest Recipes

Spring brings a newness to the air and an abundance of produce that inspires us to create beautiful fresh dishes in the kitchen. Here are some of the ways five spring-harvested veggies can be preserved, and some fun spring harvest recipes to try!

Onions

Growing onions is a long process: after the seed is sown it will take between 150 and 240 days for the onions to be ready to harvest – that’s a whopping 8 months! On the plus side, they need very little interference other than the occasional feeding and regular watering along with the rest of the veggies. A packet of seed could produce enough onions to last at least 6 months, as long as they’re packed in a cool, dry spot with good air flow. A good return on investment, I think.

There are other ways to preserve onions, but it’s hardly necessary. You can perhaps pickle the small ones for a crunchy piquant addition to cheese and biscuits, but one of my favourites has to be a sweet and salty bacon onion marmalade to serve on a cheese and meat platter.

Recipe: Bacon Onion Marmalade

Ingredients:
1kg onions (red or white), peeled, halved and sliced
250g bacon, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup red wine (or you can use red wine vinegar or cider vinegar)
1 cup sugar
Juice and zest of 1 fresh lemon
Pinch cinnamon

Method:
Add bacon to a pan with butter and olive oil and cook until crisp. Add onions and turn the heat to low. Cook the onion mixture for at least 15 – 20 minutes until they are really soft, but not too browned. Add the rest of the ingredients, season well and cook for a further 10 – 15 minutes until the mixture is thickened and jammy. Spoon into sterilised jars and seal while still hot. It will keep for 2 – 3 months, once opened in the fridge for a few weeks.

Asparagus

One of the first signs of spring is the chance to harvest asparagus spears. Asparagus officinalis is the edible plant that has a very similar ferny leaf structure to the popular indoor plant, asparagus fern. Interestingly, neither are actually ferns although they both belong to the same Asparagaceae family. The edible part of the asparagus, known to shoppers as spears, are actually plant stems that form from underground buds (or crowns) and if not harvested turn into the ferny leaves that give the plant its energy for the following year. The season for asparagus picking is consequently short at just two months, to allow the plants to form leaves and gather energy for next season’s crop.

Asparagus does well if frozen or bottled in brine, but fresh is always better and this recipe is a sure-fire way to use up a good harvest:

Recipe: Parmesan Asparagus Fries

Ingredients:
600g fresh asparagus spears, trimmed at the base
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup flour
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper
Pinch ground paprika
Vegetable oil
To serve: Mayonnaise or garlic dip

Method:
Bring water to the boil in a large saucepan and add the lemon juice. Blanch the asparagus spears in the water for 30 seconds and then drop them into a large bowl of iced water to cool them down rapidly and stop them cooking. Pat them dry with kitchen towel.
Combine the Panko and Parmesan into a dish big enough to dip each spear. To another dish, add the flour and season with salt and pepper and the paprika. Lastly, add the beaten egg to a third dish. Dip the spears into the flour, then the egg and then coat in the Panko/Parmesan mix, covering them entirely. Place on a platter ready to shallow fry.
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan until hot and cook in batches, turning until they are golden brown. Serve immediately with a dip or mayonnaise flavoured with garlic or herbs or both.

READ MORE: 3 Ways With Asparagus

Carrots

Carrots grow well in the warmer weather of spring, but in warmer areas they can be grown all year round. Sow rows of carrots in the garden at the first signs of spring and start harvesting in mid-spring. A row of around 60cm in length should produce 1kg of carrots. Extend the carrot season by succession sowing seed every two weeks. Make sure the ground is very friable so the roots have the space to form properly. They can then be harvested from thumb-sized to bigger the longer you leave them in the ground. Container carrots are a very good idea as you can easily make the soil loose so that the carrot roots form well, although there is nothing wrong with an ugly carrot – it still makes a good mousse.

Fresh carrots will last between 2 – 3 weeks when stored in the fridge. For longer preservation, blanch and freeze, pickle and bottle for use in winter (or just make a lot of carrot cake and freeze that).

Recipe: Carrot Mousse

This mousse recipe is amazing. Serve with roast meat and potatoes, or fish and spinach or beans. It is always a hit with guests and family and they will come back for more.

Ingredients:
500g carrots, roughly sliced
½ teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons butter
250ml cream
Salt and pepper

Method:
Steam the carrots until soft. Place in a large pan with butter and sugar and cook until well coated and nutty. Put this mixture into a blender with the cream and blitz until nice and smooth. Set aside and reheat in a saucepan when ready to serve.

Cauliflower

The craze of ricing cauliflower as a substitute for flour for those that are on gluten-free diets has meant that cauliflower has become a valuable commodity and the price of buying one in a supermarket has increased significantly. So there is all the more reason to grow your own cauliflower, and a few plants will go a long way. Just 4 – 5 seedlings planted out every 2 – 4 weeks will be plenty for a family of four. Most varieties of cauliflower are grown in the cooler seasons, but there are some varieties that can be grown all year round and in warmer climates.

If you decided to grow the whole seed packet at once, you may want to do some blanching and freezing or pickling and bottling. One of my favourites is making piccalilli. You can also make cauliflower rice and freeze that for use in many dishes, including pizza bases and cheesy breadsticks. Try these yummy bites for a change of pace:

Recipe: Cheesy Cauliflower Tarts

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, divided into florets (6 cups)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
½ cup Parmesan, grated
½ cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 onion, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
2 spicy sausages, cut into 1cm pieces (leave out for vegetarians)
Handful basil leaves, cut into small pieces with scissors
Handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Tomato sauce to serve

Method:
Rice the cauliflower by adding to a food processor and pulsing until fine crumbs. Place in a bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. Place on a clean tea towel and fold up to squeeze any excess moisture out of the cauliflower. Add to a bowl and then add half of the mozzarella and all of the Parmesan, cheddar, grated onion, garlic and egg. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Stir in the sausage and herbs. Place the mixture in greased muffin trays and top with the leftover mozzarella cheese. Bake at 180°C for 12 – 15 minutes until browned and gooey. Serve with homemade tomato sauce.

Peas

Sow peas in winter for a spring harvest of candy from the vine. They don’t last long after harvesting, so it’s best to pick and eat them as soon as possible for the best flavour and texture. Your own homegrown garden peas really are so superior to the starchy or, dare I say, tinned peas you buy in the supermarket. Peas are ready around 60 – 70 days after seed is sown and need to be picked as soon as they are ready for the best results. Pick them before the pods become waxy.

The obvious way to preserve your peas is by freezing them. Blanch the peas first and then plunge into cold water before packing and storing in the freezer.

Recipe: Pea & bacon Salad with Chipotle Mayo

You will find that this pea salad is quite delicious and great to serve with your next braai or spring garden party. This version serves 4 – 6 people.

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh peas
250g bacon, cooked and cut into pieces
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated or cubed
½ red onion, finely chopped
Handful fresh parsley, chopped

Chipotle mayonnaise:
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce or 1 tablespoon pre-made chipotle sauce
Juice of ½ lime or lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt to taste

*Blend all the mayonnaise ingredients together and then mix into the peas, bacon, cheese, onion and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

READ MORE: How to grow Sugar-Snap Peas