April Spring Greens Calendar
April 1: Mixed Greens with Poached Eggs, Hazelnuts and Spices
Kick off your month of green with this delicious salad. It’s packed with flavor from fennel pollen, ground cumin, cinnamon and licorice powder.
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April 2: Asparagus and Bok-Choy Frittata
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April 3: Asparagus & Aged Goat Cheese Sandwiches
Green your lunch with these terrific sandwiches that call for asparagus both raw (shaved into long, thin strips) and roasted. Aged goat cheese adds richness.
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April 4: Green Pea Samosas
To make these brightly-flavored, vegetarian samosas, mash the peas, but not too finely; you want little pieces, for texture. You can make your own buttery dough, but frozen empanada wrappers, widely available in supermarkets, are an excellent substitute.
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April 5: Farfalle with Spring Vegetables
This hyper-seasonal pasta salad is lemony and fresh. We love it as a picnic side dish.
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April 6: Arugula Salad with Mandarin Vinaigrette
This fresh, sweet and tangy salad from Diane Cu and Todd Porter gets its pleasant crunch from sliced almonds and bean sprouts.
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April 7: Chilled Watercress Soup with Crème Fraiche and Za’atar
Chef Jenn Louis gives this creamy and refreshing chilled watercress soup a modern spin by topping it with za’atar, the fragrant Middle Eastern spice blend.
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April 8: Pea Tortilla with Mint and Yogurt
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April 9: Grilled Asparagus Subs with Smoky French Dressing
This smoky asparagus sandwich gets its flavor from chipotles and smoked salt. It’s a perfect way to have a tasty, green lunch.
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April 10: Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Leeks and Peas
Pump up your Passover Seder with this elegant, seasonal chicken dish filled with leeks and peas.
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April 11: Veal Roast with Green Mashed Potatoes
You can squeeze in some green with these special mashed potatoes. Cook, cool and rice your potatoes. Then, stir them into the hot butter and cream until thickened. This springy version is then finished with a puree of bright green peas, mint and lemon zest.
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April 12: Spinach and Smoked Salmon Salad with Lemon-Dill Dressing
This refreshingly crunchy salad makes for an excellent spring lunch or super-quick dinner.
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April 13: Radishes with Seaweed-Matcha Butter
No one ever said your green had to be in vegetable form. It’s worth finding cultured butter to make this riff on a classic French appetizer; it’s slightly tangy and high in butterfat.
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April 14: Whole-Wheat Pappardelle with Arugula Pesto and Corn
Friday calls for pasta. Pancetta and an almond-arugula pesto make this whole-wheat pasta dish especially luscious.
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April 15: Spinach Shakshuka
Instead of making shakshuka with red tomatoes, this version uses a mix of Malabar spinach and tomatillos along with jalapeños, cilantro and spices. The result is a bright, tangy and spicy brunch dish that’s ideal with slabs of rich, toasty challah.
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April 16: Grilled Asparagus Salad with Fried Eggs
Go green at Easter brunch with an upgraded arugula salad. This lemony version is topped with grilled asparagus, butter-fried eggs—duck eggs, if available—and freshly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano.
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April 17: Grilled Hanger Steak with Spring Vegetables and Hazelnuts
The salad that accompanies this grilled marinated steak has a surprise ingredient: rhubarb. It adds a delicious tartness to the watercress, asparagus and peas.
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April 18: Spinach and Fennel Salad with Candied Bacon
Chef Alex Guarnaschelli puts her spin on spinach salad by adding sweet candied bacon, salty feta cheese and sautéed fennel.
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April 19: Pancetta-Wrapped Asparagus with Citronette
For Mario Batali's riff on the traditional antipasto of prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, he wraps spears in pancetta (which, unlike prosciutto, becomes nicely crispy when cooked) and grills them.
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April 20: Niçoise Salad with Baby Artichokes
Thinly shaved local baby artichokes add refreshing crunch to the classic niçoise salad.
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April 21: Salmon with Mashed Peas and Tarragon Butter
Vibrant peas bring the green to this grilled salmon dish. It’s perfect for weeknight dinner.
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April 22: Russian-Style Spring Dumplings
These dumplings are crafted with a lace-like pinch around the edges, characteristic to Russian-style dumplings called vareniki. The green, tender filling includes seasonal spring ingredients like asparagus, peas and basil.
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April 23: Pan-Fried Shrimp with Lemony Pea Pesto
This fast shrimp dish's bright pea, pine nut and Parmesan pesto would also make a great dip for crudités.
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April 24: Broccoli Stem Spring Veggie Risotto
Chopped broccoli stems take the place of rice in this creamy spring risotto, making it a healthier and lighter version than the traditional kind. When shopping for broccoli, choose broccoli stalks with thick, long stems—the thicker they are, the less peeling you'll have to do.
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April 25: Stir-Fried Snow Peas and Romaine
Everyday ingredients—snow peas, romaine, capers and egg—come together brilliantly in this flavorful stir-fry.
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April 26: Shaved Raw Asparagus with Parmesan Dressing
This fresh asparagus dish is super-simple—it has just six ingredients.
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April 27: Spring Pasta with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes
Star chef Mario Batali’s outstanding vegetable pasta boasts juicy roasted tomatoes with asparagus, Broccolini and shavings of ricotta salata cheese.
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April 28: Spring Ham Steaks with Sweet Pea-Leek Pan Sauce
Ham steaks make a quick and easy dinner; dressing them with a simple sauce of peas, leek and tarragon finishes them perfectly.
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April 29: Blistered Snap Peas with Mint
Get a skillet really, really hot before adding the snap peas; they make a fun popping sound when they hit the pan. Then put the skillet straight into a hot oven, tossing the peas every few minutes so they don’t burn.
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April 30: Sautéed Haricots Verts and Morels with Scallions
Perfect for springtime, this delicious side dish features haricots verts sautéed in olive oil and butter with fresh morels.