13 Recipes To Make the Most of the Spring Produce Bounty

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.

Michael Van de Elzen’s grilled asparagus and broccoli tart

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.

Beatrix’s rhubarb custard crumble pies

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.

Botanica’s slaw-style broccoli salad

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.

Adam Liaw's Ssamjang chicken wrapped in lettuce leaves with nori

Big flavour doesn’t mean big effort – the proof is in this punchy dish. Ssamjang, a Korean dipping sauce, is poured over butterflied roast chicken. Once served, you’ll wrap chunks of chook, along with some steamed rice and nori in lettuce leaves and enjoy. As the days get longer, this is the perfect al fresco weeknight meal.

Thai-inspired asparagus salad by Rice Paper Scissors

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.

Ixta Belfrage’s sticky roasted cabbage with mango and harissa sauce

Ex-Ottolenghi Test Kitchen chef Ixta Belfrage brings a new groove to the humble savoy cabbage thanks to a punchy mango and harissa sauce. In this warm salad, the leaves are roasted until the edges are beginning to brown and crisp. Then they’re plated up with generous spoonfuls of the deep red sauce, as well as lemon juice, fresh jalapeño, herbs and yogurt on the side. Plus, you can keep the sauce up your sleeve for later.

Zucchini fritters by Ella Mittas

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.

Adam D’Sylva’s prawn and zucchini spaghettini

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.

Very Good Falafel’s celery, mint and broad bean salad

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?

Danielle Alvarez’s rice salad

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.

Chiswick’s zucchini flowers with zesty marmalade

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.

Kay-Lene Tan’s cobbler

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.

Flour and Stone’s chocolate, raspberry and buttermilk cake

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.

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