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Spring is when the kitchen comes alive, with asparagus, morels, wild garlic and fresh peas marking the start of the new season and bringing b3old, vibrant flavours to our plates. Cooking with the seasons isn’t just a philosophy, it’s how my executive chef Ben Boeynaems and I get the best flavour from every ingredient, and spring is our (and probably every chef’s) favourite season, especially after all those months of working with winter’s roots and brassicas – spring produce is like colour after black and white. Today’s two dishes celebrate that ethos by letting exceptional ingredients do the talking.
Pea guacamole (pictured above)
English peas at their peak are unbeatable – sweet, vibrant and packed with freshness. This guacamole dials up their natural flavour with a bit of smoky heat from charred jalapeño, bright lime and fresh coriander.
Prep 10 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4
120g shelled peas
15g fresh coriander leaves, plus 1 tbsp extra, finely chopped, to finish
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 medium fresh jalapeño chilli
1½ tsp coarse sea salt, plus a little extra to finish
2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
3 spring onions, white parts only, thinly sliced
2 tbsp finely grated lime zest, plus the juice of 1 lime
Plain tortilla chips, to serve
Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, drop in the peas and cook for just a minute or two, until tender. Add the whole coriander leaves to the pan, blanch for five or so seconds, just long enough to wilt them, then drain both the peas and the coriander into a fine-mesh sieve. Immediately plunge the sieve into the bowl of iced water to stop the cooking and to cool. Once the peas are cool, transfer them to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain; put the blanched coriander in a few layers of kitchen towel and wring dry.
Toast the sunflower seeds in a heavy-based frying pan on a medium-high heat for a minute, until fragrant and golden brown, then tip on to a medium plate.
Put the whole jalapeño in the hot pan and cook, turning it often with tongs, for eight to 10 minutes, until the chilli is charred and blistered all over. Transfer the chilli to a small bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to steam and cool for five minutes. Peel the charred skin off the jalapeño, remove and discard the stem, then cut the jalapeño in half lengthways and scrape out and discard the pith and seeds.
Put all but two tablespoons’ worth of the cooled peas in a food processor (or mortar), add the blanched coriander, the charred jalapeño and a half-teaspoon of coarse salt, then pulse (or grind) until everything is coarsely broken up. Transfer the pea mixture to a medium bowl.
Add the diced avocado, sliced spring onion whites, lime zest and juice, and remaining teaspoon of coarse salt to the pea mixture and mash with a fork. Transfer to a serving bowl, then sprinkle over the sunflower seeds, the reserved peas, the chopped coriander and a pinch of sea salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.
Asparagus quesadillas with jalapeño and avocado salsa
English asparagus is one of spring’s prime ingredients: tender, fresh and packed with flavour. Here, we layer raw, thinly sliced spears with rich melting cheese, and serve them in tortillas with a bright salsa to cut through the richness. We use artisan tortillas from Masafina, who make exceptional blue corn tortillas using heritage corn that’s nixtamalised in London.
Prep 15 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4
For the quesadillas
400g oaxaca cheese, or a good-quality melting cheese such as mozzarella, grated
4 tortillas – ideally blue corn ones
140g fresh asparagus, very thinly sliced, on a mandoline, ideally
Rapeseed oil
For the salsa
100g fresh jalapeños, stalks, pith and seeds discarded, flesh roughly sliced
70g ripe avocado flesh (ie, from about ½ avocado)
30g fresh lime juice
30g extra-virgin olive oil
25g roughly chopped onion
15g mint leaves
1 tsp flaky sea salt
1 small garlic clove, peeled, halved and germ removed
First make the salsa. Put all the ingredients in a blender, add 50g cold water, then blitz until completely smooth. Transfer to a bowl, then chill over a larger bowl of ice, stirring occasionally, until very cold.
Meanwhile, prepare the quesadillas. Lay a quarter of the grated cheese over one half of each tortilla, then arrange the sliced asparagus evenly on top. Season to taste, then fold each tortilla in half to create four half-moons.
Have ready a tray or large plate lined with kitchen towel. Put a large frying pan or griddle pan on a medium heat, brush the surface with a little rapeseed oil, then, working in batches if need be, cook the quesadillas until crisp and golden on both sides, which should take six or seven minutes in all. Lift out, drain on the kitchen paper and, if need be, keep warm in a low oven while you repeat with the remaining uncooked quesadillas.
To serve, cut each quesadilla into four, then serve hot with the chilled salsa on the side.
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Jean-Georges Vongerichten is chef/patron of ABC Kitchens, The Connaught Grill and Jean-Georges at the Connaught, all in London.
