Weekday Recipes for Spring

Chicken with rosemary, capers and cream sauce; Potatoes, peas and chorizo-y onions; Rhubarb for the house

A bunch of freshly picked rhubarb, leaves intact, on a table in place of where my oven used to be.

Much like spring dressing, I am very much into spring eating. That perfect in-between time when you can have the best of both worlds- rich and creamy cut with tart and light.

I had not spent much quality time in the kitchen lately, due to a series of minor inconveniences, the latest of which involved us throwing away our stove (won’t go into details, it’s not very appetizing). It has been nice to take a moment the past few days to re-center, take some time to organize and give thanks for my toaster oven!

A few things that I have been enjoying lately: cooking a big batch of poached rhubarb, ready to spoon into bowls of yoghurt and granola or pile on top of ricotta toast. I also made a batch of granola- the first for a long time- and it felt so good! Presently I have a simple butter cake in the oven, which I will enjoy with a little whipped cream or Greek yoghurt and a spoonful of the poached rhubarb- a perfect sweet and tart pairing. A house cake is truly one of my favourite things, I love seeing it sitting under its glass dome, shrinking throughout the week.

Vanilla butter cake under the cake dome and daily bunches of flowers picked by Yuka

Rhubarb season means rhubarb spritzes, one of the best drinks in the world I am sure of it! Simply pour about an ounce of the poaching syrup from a batch of poached rhubarb into a glass and top with soda water. So good!

A few weeks ago I was under the weather and spent the days in bed watching my fill of old Nigel Slater and Nigella Lawson cooking episodes. It was exactly what I needed and inspired the following dishes. The chicken was inspired by a Nigel Slater dish and the potatoes, peas and chorizo onions was heavily influenced by Nigella’s love of frozen peas and her ability to throw just a couple of things together and be done with dinner, a skill to be sure!

I have been challenged to cook fairly simply, given that I don’t have a stove right now, using only my toaster oven, a challenge I secretly relish. I made this baked chicken in white wine and cream which was so easy and delicious, it is set to be on regular rotation in our house.

Chicken with Rosemary, Capers and Cream Sauce

I want all cooking to be this easy and delicious. I am a total sucker for any chicken dish cooked with cream and white wine, and this one is particularly good. Briny capers and heady rosemary offset the cream and bring it all together. This is one of those recipes you can very easily scale up without extra work.

I serve this with simple potatoes or rice and a salad, but would also be good with crusty bread or torn and tossed through pasta or with nothing more than some steamed vegetables.