Primavera

I’ve noticed, re-reading our past entries, that we’ve taken up a fair amount of space complaining about the weather. Well, we’re finally post-vernal equinox – there’s a (literal) light at the end of this winter, and from now on we’ll focus on celebrating the fabulous seasonal food that is soon to arrive.

Although, it is still pretty raw, snowing (yep!) and muddy out there…

No, stop that! It’s officially Spring, and we’re celebrating Primavera – the Italian way of saying first green. Accordingly, the menu this month leans decisively Italian, in the freshest and lightest possible way.

What we like most about this style of cooking (and eating!) is the way it emphasizes extremely simple dishes that showcase one or two really fresh, high quality ingredients. Not a lot of fuss, but a lot of flavor that’s right in step with the season .

Buon Appetito!

My husband says: This is our 10th issue, and still we keep discovering parts of the learning curve that need climbing. A lot more difficulty than we would have imagined stems from the fact that we have to – in the month preceding the post – cook all of the recipes in order to refine them, and to get photos. Since we’re neither of us professional photographers, we haven’t any proper lighting equipment. Therefore, we have to coordinate a fair number of our menus that month with the weather forecast, so as to have them on a sunny day.

Another problem occurs when we do a seasonally themed issue, like this one. Basically, I have to scramble in March to find ingredients that won’t usually show up until April. Fortunately this month, I had a lot of folks that helped me get it all together. Many thanks to Ipswich Shellfish Market, who pulled strings to get me some soft shell crabs.

Also, here’s a shout out to my long time friend at Meadowbrook Farms, in Essex. Every year, I get the first fresh peas of the year from him. They’re not local, of course, but it’s been more than half a year so, hey – are you seriously going to wait? On the other hand, March is still way too early for peas, even for him. I was resigned to faking it with frozen when I stopped by his stand on the 19th - mostly just to say Happy New Year, but just on the off chance… And sure enough, as soon as I get there he says, “You’ll never believe what I have for you today…” Yay, peas! I bought half a bushel and we’ve finished them all already.

Finally, a large number of the recipes this month are either adapted or draw inspiration from The River Café, a London restaurant founded by Rose Gray (who passed away in 2010) and Ruth Rogers. They’ve published a set of cookbooks, which are frankly amazing to cook from. You read the insanely short list of ingredients and think, “What’s so special about putting these 2 or 3 things together?” But then, due to their unwavering focus on quality, freshness and simplicity, you get a tastebud-exploding masterpiece every time. Highly recommended.