Spring is soon to arrive, and with it a bounty of beautiful produce is shooting up and making its way to farmers markets and grocery stores. To make the most of the incoming abundance of asparagus, zucchini flowers, broad beans and other spring ingredients, we’ve pulled together 11 gorgeous recipes from top Aussie restaurants and chefs that are light, bright and perfect for breaking free of the stodgy monotony of winter.
Asparagus is perfect for spring: not only is it in-season, it’s also the ideal accompaniment to the lighter dishes we crave as the weather gets warmer. This tart, from chef and television presenter Michael Van de Elzen, requires little effort for big payoff. It co-stars another spring veg, broccoli, and leans on chilli oil and smoked cheddar for big walloping flavours.
Depending on where you are in the country, spring is the best time for tart, zesty rhubarb. And this pink stalk shines in now-closed Melbourne bakery Beatrix’s rhubarb custard crumble pies. Smooth vanilla custard and the flaky pie crust are blank canvases for the bitey roasted rhubarb with ginger and a crunchy butter-oat streusel. Sound good? If you’re making every element from scratch, just make sure you factor in a good three hours of hands-on time.
The ideal salad is all about balance – and with the crunch of shredded broccoli and almonds, the sour-but-sweet flavour of dried cranberries and a silky garlic cashew cream dressing, this salad from Brisbane salad bar Botanica is the definition of balance. It comes together in just 30 minutes, with no cooking involved, making it perfect for warm spring nights when sweating your socks off in the kitchen is a hard no.
This Thai-inspired salad from Melbourne Southeast Asian eatery Rice Paper Scissors is like a snapshot of the season: asparagus, cucumber, mint and chilli. Succulent chargrilled asparagus spears are set off with fresh mint, coriander and lemongrass, as well as the classic Thai dipping sauce, nam jim. And it’s ready in just 20 minutes, making it a spring dinner winner.
Plump zucchinis are a spring staple – and one of their best qualities is that they’re so versatile. Here, they’re put to work by Greek-Australian cook Ella Mittas in crispy fritters, inspired by ones she made while cooking in Turkey. Spring-y herbs like parsley and mint brighten the fritters, Aleppo pepper brings the spice and Mittas serves them with tzatziki for an extra zing.
You know a dish is top-tier when it’s regularly served as the staff meal to a bunch of chefs. For a good while, this simple pasta dish was on regular rotation at Adam D’Sylva’s Melbourne restaurants Coda and Tonka. It’s a riff on classic aglio e olio (garlic and oil) pasta, and a bit of a spring fling thanks to zucchini, chilli and flat-leaf parsley. Prawns only sweeten the deal.
It’s crunchy (thanks to in-season celery, radishes and broad beans), it’s fresh (hiya, mint) and it’s zesty (that’d be the lemon). It’s a brilliant salad from Melbourne’s Very Good Falafel. Bonus: it takes just eight ingredients and 15 minutes hands-on time. What more do you want from a spring dish?
If you’re looking for produce-driven seasonal recipes, Danielle Alvarez (who worked at Alice Waters’s seminal produce-forward Californian restaurant Chez Panisse) is your lady. Like all good salads, texture is key. Here we have dried rice, pistachios and lettuce for crunch. Spring-y broad beans and peas, fresh herbs and a zingy curry vinaigrette tie the whole thing together. Bonus: it’s easily transportable, so perfect for warm-weather picnics.
You don’t need to look hard to find Chiswick’s commitment to seasonal produce – you’ll see its kitchen garden right out the window as you dine at its Sydney restaurant. Zucchini flowers are the ultimate spring vegetable – they’re not around for long, so it’s worth making the most of them while they’re here. At Chiswick, they’re given a fluffy tempura batter and filled with a rich and creamy goat’s cheese. The final flourish? A four-citrus marmalade that offsets all those rich flavours. The perfect dinner party appetiser, we say.
This cobbler recipe isn’t strictly for spring – you can choose whatever fruit you like, depending on the season. For spring, that could mean strawberries, blueberries or cherries. This is a gorgeously rustic dessert that isn’t too heavy for warm spring days, while still nodding to the fact that the winter chill may still be lingering at night.
Raspberry season doesn’t hit in Australia till November – but it’s well worth the wait to make this cake from beloved Sydney bakery Flour and Stone. It’s one of the most popular recipes Broadsheet has ever published for good reason; owner Nadine Ingram calls this the “fudgiest of all the chocolate cakes”. Despite that fudginess, the crumb is light enough that going back for seconds won’t induce nausea, and the raspberries cut through the chocolate like a knife going back through this cake for a third slice.
