Erica De Mane

Young green garlic, made up of immature shoots that haven’t yet even formed cloves, appears in the New York greenmarkets around May. It looks like thick scallions and has a sweet, mild garlicky taste, with no bitterness. It can be chopped just like scallions and cooked or added raw to salad or sauces.

(Serves 4)

Extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 green garlic shoots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 pounds mussels, soaked in cool water and debearded if necessary (with cultivated mussels this is not usually necessary, but wild ones can be a little hairy; unless you get mussels from a fisherman, they’re most likely cultivated)
1 heaping tablespoon mascarpone
A large handful of spring herbs, stemmed but very lightly chopped so they retain all their flavor (a mix of parsley, chives, mint, chervil, and tarragon is a good choice, but add whatever you can get, concentrating on gentle, leafy herbs and avoiding strong, spiky flavors like rosemary or savory)
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt, if needed

Look over the mussels, throwing out any that don’t close tightly when you tap on them (meaning they’re dead). Choose a very large pot (a big pasta pot is a good choice), or two smaller pots. Over medium heat, add about 1/3 cup of olive oil to the pot. Add the shallots and the garlic and sauté until they give off fragrance, about a minute. Drain the mussels and add them, along with the white wine. Cook, uncovered, stirring the mussels around occasionally until they have opened. This should take only about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the mascarpone, a few grindings of black pepper, and all the herbs. Give it all a good mixing. Taste the broth for saltiness, adding a bit of salt if necessary.

Serve in large bowls, giving each person a good amount of broth. Italian bread is pretty much essential, so you can sop up all the juices.

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This dish should be voluptuous; to make it so, keep the eggs soft and runny so the yolks can mingle with the saltiness of the olives and the rich olive oil. Choose thick, juicy asparagus, and peel the stem ends so they’re tender all the way up.Olivata is Italian-style olive paste, very much like France’s tapenade. This recipe makes more of it than you’ll use, but it will keep well in the refrigerator for about a week, and it tastes good on many things. You can use it on grilled or roasted seafood, for instance, or on grilled lamb chops, or spooned onto crostini (little toasted bread rounds) for an appetizer. I especially like to toss it with spaghetti. If you do that, add the olivata to your al dente spaghetti and then moisten it with a few tablespoons of cooking water and a generous splash of fresh olive oil to loosen the sauce, and add a handful of chopped basil at the last minute.

(Serves 2 as a first course or a brunch dish)

1 cup Gaeta black olives, pitted
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
A palmful of salt-packed capers, soaked in cool water for about 1/2 hour and rinsed
2 salt-packed anchovies, rinsed of excess salt, filleted, and rinsed again (and soaked in cool water for about 20 minutes if they are excessively salty)
The zest and juice from 1 small lemon
A few thyme sprigs, the leaves only
A tiny splash of grappa or brandy
A teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
10 fairly thick asparagus stalks, the stems trimmed and peeled
2 very fresh eggs, preferably organic
Salt
A handful of basil leaves, cut into thin strips

To make the olivata, place the pitted olives, garlic, capers, anchovies, lemon zest, and thyme in the bowl of a food processor and pulse for a few seconds until you have a rough paste. Add the grappa or brandy, mustard, a few grindings of black pepper, and about 1/2 cup of good extra virgin olive oil. Add enough oil to lubricate all the ingredients so the texture is no longer crumbly.. Pulse a few more times, just until everything is mixed but the texture is still chunky. I don’t like my olivata smooth, but I do like it luxuriously oily. Because of all the salty things you’ve added here, you won’t need extra salt, but do taste for balance; depending on your preference, you may feel you need a little more garlic, or lemon flavor (a squeeze of lemon juice might be just the thing). You can transfer the olivata to a small bowl and refrigerate it for a few days, or you can use it right away. If you do refrigerate it, make sure to bring it to room temperature before using it, so the finished dish can be warm and runny with no hard edges.

Put up a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Drop the asparagus into it, tips up (it’s okay if the ends of the tips stick out of the water a bit). Blanch until just tender, no more than about 4 minutes, depending on how thick it is. Scoop the asparagus from the water with a large strainer, and lay it out on paper towels to drain. Arrange the asparagus on two small plates, all pointing in the same direction. Sprinkle it with salt, and drizzle it lightly with olive oil.

Fill a shallow saucepan with water and bring it to a very gentle simmer. Add a little salt to it. Gently crack an egg into a small cup and release it smoothly into the water so the yolk isn’t jarred. Do the same with the other egg. Let the two eggs poach, without moving them around at all, until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. This should take about 3 minutes. Gently scoop them from the water, one at a time, and drain them on paper towels. Place one egg on each serving of asparagus.

Spoon a generous spoonful of olivata onto each egg. Give each dish a squeeze of lemon juice and a grinding of black pepper. Garnish with the basil and send to the table right away. Serve with good Italian bread, toasted, if you like (if you do choose to toast it, you might as well go all the way and rub the toast with raw garlic, brush it with olive oil, and finish it with a pinch of salt).

I like serving this with or after a plate of thin-sliced prosciutto, accompanied perhaps by buttered Italian bread.

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Whole wheat berries are used in Southern Italian cooking to make all sort of salads and for cuccia, a mix of wheat berries, ricotta, and a sweetener such as sugar or cocoa. I love serving wheat berries warm, tossed with seasonal vegetables almost the way you might compose a pasta dish. Make sure to buy hard wheat berries (usually label “hard spring wheat”). The soft winter wheat cooks up a little too mushy. You’ll most easily find wheat berries at health food stores and Middle Eastern markets.Zucchini blossoms should be very fresh and unwilted when you buy them. They are quite perishable and will keep for only about a day, so plan to use them right away. Sticking their stems in a small glass of water in the refrigerator can prolong their freshness for perhaps one additional day. To clean the blossoms for this recipe, open each one and pinch off its stamen, checking while you do this for any dirt that might be trapped inside (just wipe it off with a damp paper towel). Cut off the stem and quarter the blossom lengthwise. I try not to wash zucchini blossoms (they easily become waterlogged). If they are really dirty, dunk them very briefly in cool water, lift them out right away, and drain them on paper towels. But I usually find that wiping the surface with damp paper towels cleans them well enough.

(Serves 4 as a first course or side dish)

1 1/2 cups hard wheat berries
1 bay leaf, fresh if possible
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 thin slices of pancetta
4 or 5 scallions, thinly sliced, using some of the tender green part
5 tiny young zucchini, cut into small cubes
About 6 zucchini blossoms (cleaned, see note below)
A splash of white wine
The zest from 1 lemon
A handful of pine nuts, lightly toasted
A handful of basil leaves, cut into thin strips
1 cup fresh ricotta

Place the wheat berries in a large pot and cover them with about 4 inches of cold water. Add the bay leaf and bring the water to a boil. Adjust the heat to medium-low and cook the wheat, uncovered, at a low boil (a bit more vigorous than a simmer but not a rolling boil), for about 45 minutes to an hour. Add hot water if the water level shrinks to less than an inch above the wheat. When done, the grains will have swelled to about twice their size and will be tender to the bite with just a bit of resistance. Some of the grains will have started to burst. Drain well and pour the wheat berries into a large serving bowl. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Gently mix.

In a large skillet, heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium flame. Add the pancetta and sauté until crisp, about 4 minutes. Add the scallions and the zucchini and sauté until the zucchini is just tender, about 5 minutes (really young, tender zucchini will cook especially quickly). Season with salt and black pepper. Add the sliced zucchini blossoms and sauté very quickly, just until they wilt, about a minute. Add the white wine and let it bubble for a few seconds (the wine will loosen up juices on the bottom of the skillet so they can be incorporated into the wheat, adding a lot of flavor). Add the zucchini mixture, with all the skillet juices, to the wheat berries. Add the pine nuts, lemon zest, and basil. Add a drizzle of fresh olive oil, and toss everything gently. Taste for seasoning. You might want to add a little fresh lemon juice to pick up the flavors.

Serve warm in a small pasta bowl with a dollop of ricotta on top of each serving.

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This is a reworking of a pasta dish I had for lunch in Trapani, on Sicily’s western coast. It used dried favas that had been cooked down to a rough purée, and the taste was good, but the color was a sort of mossy gray green. By using fresh favas I get a brilliant green shade that cheers my American heart (Southern Italian cooks almost always go for flavor above presentation). Mint is one of the first herbs available at my greenmarket in spring, so I make this dish to celebrate the beginning of warm weather.Freshly dug spring bulb onions start showing up at my greenmarket in May. They are relatively small, shiny-skinned, and juicy (because they haven’t been stored). They also are often sold with their green stem still intact, which is sweet and edible once you pull off the outer layer; I always try to use a little of it. If you can’t find these onions, use five or six scallions instead.

To prepare fava beans, first remove the beans from their fuzzy pods. You’ll notice that each bean is covered with a thin skin. This skin cooks up a little tough and can be slightly bitter, so you should remove it. To do so, blanch the beans in a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds, drain them, and refresh under cold water. Drain again. The skin will now slip off easily to reveal the brilliantly green bean underneath.

If you can’t find, or don’t want to bother with, the fava beans (they are a little work), fresh peas, about a cup of them, make a wonderful springtime substitute.

(Serves 6 as a first course or 4 as a main course)

Extra virgin olive oil
2 medium spring bulb onions (see above), thinly sliced, using some of the tender green stem
1 pound orzo pasta (or another small shape, such as tubettini)
2 pounds fava beans, removed from their pods and skinned (see above)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A few scrapings of fresh nutmeg
A splash of dry white wine
1/2 cup homemade or low-salt canned chicken broth
4 thin slices prosciutto di Parma, trimmed of excess fat and cut into strips
A squeeze of lemon juice
A chunk of aged Pecorino cheese
A small handful of mint leaves, lightly chopped

Set up a large pot of pasta cooking water and bring it to a boil.

In a skillet large enough to eventually hold the sauce and all the pasta, heat about 4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft, fragrant, and just starting to turn golden.

When boiling, add a generous amount of salt to the pasta water (the water should actually taste slightly salty) and drop in the orzo.

Add the skinned fava beans to the skillet, season everything with salt, black pepper, and a few scrapings of nutmeg, and sauté over medium-low heat for about 3 or 4 minutes, just to coat the beans with flavor and to soften them slightly. Add a splash of white wine and let it boil away. Add the chicken broth and simmer for about a minute, just to finish cooking the beans and to blend the flavors (the sauce will also thicken a bit).

When the orzo is al dente, drain it and add it to the skillet. Toss briefly over low heat for about 30 seconds. Add the prosciutto and toss to distribute it throughout the dish. Pour the pasta into a large, warmed serving bowl. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, a generous amount of freshly grated Pecorino, the chopped mint, a few gratings of black pepper, and a healthy drizzle of fresh olive oil (because of the saltiness of the prosciutto, you will not need more salt). Give the whole thing a final toss and bring it to the table, along with the remaining chunk of Pecorino for those who would like a little extra cheese.

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Little chokeless artichokes and tiny new potatoes are best for this dish, which is an Easter classic in many parts of Southern Italy, celebrating spring and the renewal of the earth. You can double the recipe if you want to serve a larger group.A word about trimming baby artichokes: Since these small vegetables have not yet developed their chokes, you need only pull off their tough outer leaves until you get to the tender, light-green ones. But be thorough enough so you don’t wind up biting down on anything indigestible. Trim the top, and trim and peel the stem. Then place the trimmed artichokes in a big bowl of cold water with the juice of a large lemon until you’re ready to cook them.

(Serves 4)

Extra virgin olive oil
2 thin slices pancetta, well chopped
2 dozen baby artichokes, trimmed (see above) and placed in a bowl of cold water with the juice of 1 large lemon
4 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A dozen small red potatoes, cut in half
A splash of dry white wine
A squeeze of lemon juice
A few large sprigs of fresh mint, the leaves chopped
Shavings of young Pecorino cheese

In a large skillet, heat 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta and sauté it until it’s just starting to crisp. Drain the artichokes well and add them to the skillet. Sauté, uncovered, until lightly golden, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic about halfway through the sautéing, so it doesn’t burn. Season with salt and black pepper, cover the pan, lower the heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the artichokes are just fork tender (you should be able to do this without adding liquid, but if the artichokes start to stick or burn, add a splash of white wine).

While the artichokes are cooking, blanch the potatoes in boiling salted water until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain them well.

When the artichokes are almost tender, uncover the pan, add the potatoes, and cook both vegetables together for a few minutes to blend their flavors and to lightly brown the potatoes. Add a splash of white wine and let it boil away. Add a generous squeeze of lemon juice, and reseason with a touch of salt and a few fresh grindings of black pepper. Scatter on the mint and give everything a gentle toss. Place in a serving bowl and shave the Pecorino over the top.

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For me Easter means, among other things, the real beginning of spring. I have memories of my sister and me putting on matching sleeveless pink-and-turquoise mini dresses and white straw hats and standing against the front door, our bare legs shivering in the 35-degree suburban New York weather, while my father took pictures with a Polaroid camera. I have several years’ worth of these blue-lipped photos, and they’re a reminder of how slowly spring can come around here. Now that I’m grown up and spend much of my time obsessing over seasonal produce and hunting down exquisite things to cook, my irritation with early spring is even more pronounced. April at the Union Square Greemarket still smells of hot apple cider, while I’m dreaming about artichokes, fresh peas, fava beans, asparagus, wild strawberries, and all the beautiful springtime dishes cooks are already preparing in Southern Italy, where a proper spring is in progress by now.

Here are a few anticipatory dishes I’ve been cooking lately, admittedly using California asparagus and hothouse herbs. I look forward to cooking them again using the real things.

I’ll be sharing more Spring recipes with you as the season progresses.

Recipe: Sautéed Artichokes with Pancetta and New Potatoes

Recipe: Orzo with Fava Beans, Spring Onions, Prosciutto, and Mint

Recipe: Wheat Berries with Pancetta, Zucchini Blossoms, and Pine Nuts

Recipe: Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Olivata

Recipe: Steamed Mussels with Spring Herbs and Green Garlic

Recipe: Braised Tuna with Artichokes and Mint Pesto

Recipe: Agnello alla Cacciatore

Recipe: Veal Scaloppine with Dandelion, Spring Onion, and Caper Salad

Recipe: Rhubarb and Strawberry Compote with Grappa

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