I love the idea of popping a whole fish in the oven, to roast until sizzling sounds are heard, and the flesh is juicy and opaque. But I don’t love the idea of just plunking the whole fish down on a baking sheet, as it’ll stick to the pan, becoming slimy and weird. The fish’s natural juices will get totally wasted while cooking, spilling onto the abyss of a blank sheetpan that you’ll have to scrub well soon. So I like to pile vegetables underneath my fish, and asparagus are a perfect tool for creating edible grillbars for this purpose. They remind me of playing with colored wooden logs and stacking cabins with them in preschool.
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Part of this recipe is applicable to any time of year, in any part of the world you live, and it’s great to eat for any meal. The other part of this recipe involves a specific ingredient that’s not conventionally harvested, and only exists at a specific time in a plant’s life cycle. Combined, the earthy, savory and hearty element (chickpea stew) complements the youthful, bouncy and springlike element (flowering greens) for a fully satisfying, complete meal. Yes, a meal can be as simple as that.
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Not sure what the heck to do with fiddlehead ferns this spring? Here’s a solution — pickle them. Then think about ways to use them for as long as you want.

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Spring is in the air — and greens are in the earth. According to a friend who tends a farm Upstate, only the last couple weeks have granted the consistency of warmth needed to thaw the ground and allow for new plantings to begin. Rejoice! But then, not all plants need to be planted, per se. Some prefer to seed spontaneously, in the wild. Introducing the season of wild onions, including those most coveted now in New York City — ramps.
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I’m suffering from a slight sunburn today, but it pales in comparison to the burning sensations experienced at the first-ever NYC Hot Sauce Expo yesterday. Held over a two-day weekend at the East River Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the show featured dozens of small-batch hot sauce makers from around the country. The outdoor event spanned the public park, just across the river from Manhattan’s skyline, on an especially sunny spring day. Other participating vendors offered craft beers, vodka for Bloody Marys, grilled cheese, biscuits and chicken nuggets to soak up the sauce.
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This is an example of the sum really exceeding the parts. There are so few parts to this, too — sweet winter spinach, creamy ricotta, buttered toast, a tinge of fresh nutmeg and hint of green onion. But combined in a warm mess to soak into crisp bread, it’s a savory comfort of sublime proportions.
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Is there anything more heavenly when breakfast time calls than potatoes cooked crispy in butter? Yes, I can think of something — when those potatoes mingle with the sweet flavors of root vegetables, also cooked crispy, in butter. There are simpler ways to combine these forces, as in a golden hash or a roasted tray of assorted chunks. I’ve slipped root vegetables ranging from parsnips and sweet potatoes to rutabagas and sunchokes into platters of these for many breakfasts past. But for a slightly more dressy display of this variety, I’ve layered thin slices into a pan-cooked galette.
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Sssizzle. One simple technique — searing — can add dramatic layers of flavor, even in places where you’d less expect it. A salad, for instance. I’ve had slightly charred radicchio and even romaine lettuce, but there’s something about sweet savoy cabbage, with its crinkly leaves, that tastes divine when given the treatment. Also, cabbage, in its many shapes and colors, is inexpensive, hardy, and readily available at a (yes, it’s still) winter farmers market. But the weather is getting warmer, and so it’s time for a salad — one that makes a good meal.
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There are two ways to prepare squid (aka calamari) with succulent results: very quickly, as in searing, grilling, or flash-frying; or very long, as in braising, stewing, or slow-roasting. Anywhere in between will yield rubbery, rigid bands like undercooked cartilage. I went with the latter preparation for this late-winter, almost-springlike, one-seafood stew. It could be plopped on top of pasta, or sopped up with pieces of bread. Tentacles had never been more tender.
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I have been seriously craving hamburgers lately. Not the cutely compressed, miniature snack-cum-calorie-whoppers wrapped in grease-blotched paper, but the mean, towering, impressive type stuffed with fixins’ that might come with a steak knife at the side. Oddly, though, I was craving the whole big sandwich affair more so than meat, and wondered if that could be sated without.
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