A salute to spring greens

By winter’s end, I’m absolutely craving fresh green vegetables and bright flavours. I want foods that taste of spring and spark an appetite jaded by rich winter meals.

I’m talking asparagus, radishes, chives, citrus – refreshing, bright and new.

I hope you’re with me.

For this reason among many, we are blessed to live on Vancouver Island. Our sub-Mediterranean climate allows for a longer growing season and earlier harvest of the freshest new vegetables. Right now, we can be enjoying a meal of locally grown lettuces, spring greens and baby greenhouse-grown vegetables.

However, we still need to rely on imports, of which mangoes are my favourite spring treat. Luscious yet light, mangoes can been added to both sweet and savoury recipes to brighten the flavour with both sweetness and acidity.

The theme of fresh spring flavours was on my mind as I picked and tested the recipes for this issue. Tender Ataulfo mangoes, used in a spicy salsa, can be eaten as a snack with tortilla chips or as an enhancement to tacos, chili or quesadillas. Asparagus, treated simply with butter and lemon, at their springtime best – not overdone, only enhanced. Finally, Vietnamese-style turkey meatballs, which pack a lot of a flavour into a lower-fat meatball, and are typically served with lettuce, fresh raw vegetables and a super-refreshing sweet-salty-sour dipping sauce.

All of these recipes are simple, produce-forward, with bright, spring-inspired flavour profiles. I hope you love them.

One of my goals as a chef and culinary instructor is to help people find their joy and inspiration in the kitchen, whether for the first time or after losing their cooking spark. To that end, I focus on teaching about key techniques, ingredients, and kitchen hacks that can bring that spark back, or help cooks feel more confident and comfortable making a meal.

I try to take away arbitrary rules and emphasize only what is important, both in terms of kitchen skills and kitchen joy.

This spring, more than ever, my focus is on simplicity, both in technique and preparation, without loss of flavour.

I believe that ingredients should speak for themselves; that their freshness and seasonality should shine through, without costing the cook a lot of time in the kitchen. Spring is for soaking up the gentle sunshine and working in the garden, not necessarily for elaborate cooking projects.

Plans are in the works for the next season of Cookin’ on the Coast, which will air in September on CHEKTV and their streaming app, CHEK+.

I have been working on recipes, planning menus, reaching out to suppliers and farmers, in keeping with this year’s winning theme of ‘Travel by Plate’ (‘Fresh Food Fast’ was a close runner-up, so I’ll be incorporating that as much as I can as well).

I hope to improve upon last season and showcase new producers local to our beautiful Island. Much like last season, the show will be a celebration of Vancouver Island, with a focus on learning the key techniques that make for delicious food at home. . . because the more you learn, the better it tastes!