Why March Is the Best Month to Cook All Year

Why March Is the Best Month to Cook All Year

Every March, something clicks in my kitchen. The grocery store stops feeling like a beige obligation and starts feeling like an event. Asparagus shows up in thick, gorgeous bundles. Ramps — those wild, garlicky little weeds that serious cooks lose their minds over — appear for about five minutes before they’re gone again. And fresh peas, real ones still in the pod, start showing up at farmers markets alongside people who look genuinely happy to be outside for the first time since October.

Spring peak-season ingredients don’t wait for you. That’s the whole deal. You either cook with them now, or you spend the next eleven months eating frozen peas and pretending they’re the same thing. They are not the same thing.

I’ve been cooking through spring ingredient seasons for years, and every March I put together a handful of recipes that actually do these ingredients justice — not fussy, not precious, not the kind of thing that requires a culinary school education. Just good food that tastes like the season actually happened in your kitchen. These five recipes are what I’m cooking right now, and I’m sharing them because they’re too good to keep to myself.

The Spring Ingredient Cheat Sheet: What You’re Actually Working With

Before we cook anything, let’s talk about the ingredients themselves — because buying them right is half the battle.

Asparagus: Thick vs. Thin, and Why It Matters

Thick spears are for roasting and grilling — they can handle the heat without turning to mush. Thin spears are for quick sautés, shaving raw into salads, or blanching. When you’re at the market, bend one spear gently. It should snap cleanly about a third of the way up from the bottom. If it bends without snapping, it’s old. Put it down and find another bunch. Freshness here is everything — the difference between asparagus that tastes like spring and asparagus that tastes like disappointment.

Ramps: The Ingredient That Has a Cult Following for Good Reason

Ramps are wild leeks. They look like scallions with wide, flat leaves and a purplish stem, and they taste like garlic and onion had a very good-looking baby. The leaves are milder than the bulbs — cook the bulbs longer, throw the leaves in at the last minute. They’re intensely seasonal (we’re talking a few weeks, maybe), which is why chefs go absolutely feral for them every spring. If you see them, buy them. You can pickle the bulbs, blister the leaves, make compound butter, throw them in everything. Don’t overthink it.

Fresh Peas: The Pod Is Not the Enemy

Shelling peas takes time. That’s the truth. But fresh peas — properly fresh, just-shelled peas — taste like a completely different vegetable than the frozen kind. Sweet, slightly starchy, with a pop of texture that frozen peas simply cannot replicate. If you can get sugar snap peas or snow peas alongside the shelling variety, grab those too. They require zero prep and they’re extraordinary raw, lightly sautéed, or thrown into a warm grain bowl at the last minute.

Recipe 1: Charred Asparagus with Ramp Butter and a Fried Egg

This is the recipe I make the first week asparagus and ramps overlap, every single year. It’s technically breakfast. It’s also acceptable as dinner, a late-night snack, or something you eat standing over the stove at 11am on a Sunday when you can’t be bothered to make anything more complicated. The ramp butter is the move — you’ll want to put it on everything.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch thick asparagus spears (about 12–14 spears), woody ends snapped off
• 4–5 ramps, bulbs and leaves separated
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• Flaky sea salt (like Maldon) and freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 large eggs
• Optional: crusty bread or thick toast, for serving

Equipment

A cast iron skillet is non-negotiable here — you need the high heat retention to actually char the asparagus rather than steam it. A Lodge 10-inch cast iron skillet is what I use and what I’d recommend to anyone who doesn’t already own one. Also useful: a small bowl for mixing the butter, and a second pan or a cleared section of the skillet for the eggs.

Instructions

1. Make the ramp butter first. Mince the ramp bulbs very finely — almost to a paste. Combine with softened butter, lemon zest, a pinch of flaky salt, and a crack of black pepper. Mix well. Set aside at room temperature.
2. Heat your cast iron skillet over high heat until it’s genuinely, aggressively hot — about 3 minutes. You want it smoking slightly.
3. Toss the asparagus with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add to the hot skillet in a single layer. Do not move them for 2 minutes. You want actual char marks, not just browning. Flip and cook another 2 minutes. The asparagus should be tender but still have some bite — not limp.
4. In the last minute of cooking, add the ramp leaves to the skillet. They’ll wilt almost immediately and pick up the char flavor from the pan. Remove asparagus and ramp leaves to a plate.
5. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Crack in both eggs. Cook until whites are set but yolks are still runny — about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
6. To serve: arrange asparagus on plates, scatter wilted ramp leaves over the top, add a generous spoonful of ramp butter (it will melt beautifully over the warm spears), then slide a fried egg on top. Finish with flaky salt. Eat immediately.

Pro Tip: Make extra ramp butter and roll it into a log in plastic wrap. Freeze it. You’ll have ramp butter in July when ramps are a distant memory, and you’ll feel like a genius every time you use it.

Recipe 2: Fresh Pea and Ricotta Crostini with Mint and Lemon

This one is what I bring to every spring gathering — dinner parties, potlucks, “just come over, I’ll have snacks” situations. It looks fancy. It takes about 20 minutes. It disappears faster than anything else on the table, every single time. The secret is not overcooking the peas — you’re barely cooking them at all, just enough to take the raw edge off while keeping them bright green and sweet.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups fresh shelled peas (from about 1½ pounds of pods) — or sugar snap peas, roughly chopped
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, torn (plus more for garnish)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Flaky sea salt and black pepper
• 1 baguette, sliced into ½-inch rounds and toasted (or use good-quality crackers for a gluten-free option)
• Optional: a handful of pea shoots for garnish, a few red pepper flakes for heat

Instructions

1. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the shelled peas and cook for exactly 90 seconds. Drain immediately and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Drain again and pat dry.
2. Transfer about two-thirds of the peas to a food processor. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the lemon juice, and a generous pinch of salt. Pulse 6–8 times — you want a rough, chunky paste, not a smooth purée. Texture is the point here.
3. Transfer the pea mixture to a bowl. Fold in the remaining whole peas and the torn mint. Taste and adjust salt, lemon, and pepper.
4. Season the ricotta separately with lemon zest, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Give it a stir until it’s creamy and well-seasoned.
5. To assemble: spread a generous layer of ricotta on each toasted baguette round. Top with a spoonful of the pea mixture. Garnish with a mint leaf, a drizzle of olive oil, flaky salt, and pea shoots if you have them.
6. Serve immediately — these are best eaten right after assembly, while the toast is still crisp.

Pro Tip: The pea mixture and the ricotta can both be made up to 4 hours ahead and stored separately in the fridge. Toast the bread right before guests arrive. Assembly takes three minutes and you’ll look incredibly organized.

internal-link: “spring appetizer recipes for entertaining”

Recipe 3: Ramp and Asparagus Frittata with Goat Cheese

A frittata is just a fancy Italian word for “I had things in my fridge and I put them in eggs.” I mean that as a compliment. The frittata is one of the most useful formats in cooking — it works for breakfast, lunch, dinner, meal prep, picnics, and “what do I do with these ramps before they go bad.” This version is genuinely excellent. The goat cheese gets creamy and tangy against the eggs, the asparagus adds texture, and the ramps do what ramps always do — make everything taste more interesting.

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 bunch thin asparagus (about 10–12 spears), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 6–8 ramps, bulbs thinly sliced, leaves roughly chopped and kept separate
• 3 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon or chives, chopped (optional but worth it)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven broiler to high. Position a rack about 6 inches from the heat source.
2. Whisk together eggs, milk, a generous pinch of salt, and several cracks of black pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet (cast iron works beautifully here) over medium heat. Add the ramp bulbs and asparagus pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until asparagus is bright green and just starting to become tender. Add the ramp leaves and cook another 60 seconds.
4. Spread the vegetables evenly across the bottom of the skillet. Pour the egg mixture over the top. Scatter the goat cheese crumbles evenly across the surface. Do not stir — just let it sit.
5. Cook over medium-low heat for 6–8 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is still slightly jiggly. You’ll see the eggs slowly firming up from the outside in.
6. Transfer the skillet to the broiler. Broil for 2–3 minutes until the top is golden and set — watch it carefully, the difference between golden and burnt is about 45 seconds under a broiler.
7. Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Scatter fresh herbs over the top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pro Tip: This frittata is excellent cold the next day, sliced and eaten straight from the fridge with a little hot sauce. It also holds beautifully for up to 3 days wrapped in the fridge — making it one of the best meal-prep options in the spring rotation.

Recipe 4: Spring Pea and Asparagus Risotto (The One Worth the Stirring)

I know what you’re thinking. Risotto is a commitment. You have to stand there and stir it for 25 minutes and it requires your full attention and you can’t just walk away. All true. Here’s the other truth: a properly made spring pea and asparagus risotto is one of the most satisfying things you can put on a table in March, and it rewards every minute you spend on it. This is a weekend dinner, not a Tuesday-night situation. Make it when you have time and good wine and someone to talk to while you stir.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups Arborio rice
• 5–6 cups vegetable or chicken broth, kept warm in a saucepan
• 1 bunch thin asparagus (about 12 spears), cut into 1-inch pieces, tips reserved separately
• 1 cup fresh shelled peas
• 4–5 ramps, bulbs minced, leaves sliced thin (or substitute 2 shallots and 2 garlic cloves)
• ½ cup dry white wine (something you’d actually drink — Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc works well)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt and white pepper
• Fresh mint or pea shoots for garnish

Equipment

You need a wide, heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven for this — the wider the better, so the rice has room to absorb liquid evenly. A Le Creuset 3.5-quart braiser is my go-to for risotto, though any wide heavy pan works. Keep a ladle and a wooden spoon nearby for the duration.

Instructions

1. Warm your broth in a separate saucepan over low heat. Keep it at a bare simmer throughout — cold broth kills risotto momentum and extends cooking time significantly.
2. In your wide pan, heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add ramp bulbs (or shallots and garlic). Cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until softened and fragrant. Do not brown them.
3. Add the Arborio rice. Stir to coat every grain in the fat. Toast the rice for about 2 minutes — it should smell nutty and the edges of the grains will become slightly translucent.
4. Pour in the white wine. Stir constantly until the wine is fully absorbed — about 2 minutes. This is the step most people skip. Don’t skip it.
5. Begin adding warm broth, one ladle at a time (about ½ cup per addition). Stir after each addition until the liquid is almost fully absorbed before adding the next ladle. Maintain medium to medium-low heat throughout — you want a steady, gentle bubble, not a rapid boil.
6. After about 15 minutes of adding broth, add the asparagus pieces (not the tips yet) and continue the process. The rice should be getting creamy and starting to swell.
7. After about 20–22 minutes total, when the rice is al dente — cooked through but still with a slight bite at the center — add the peas, asparagus tips, and ramp leaves. Stir in one final ladle of broth.
8. Remove from heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds — this is called “mantecatura” and it’s what makes risotto creamy and glossy rather than gluey. Add lemon juice, taste, and adjust salt and white pepper.
9. Serve immediately in warm bowls. Garnish with extra Parmigiano, fresh mint or pea shoots, and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Pro Tip: The risotto should flow gently when you shake the plate — Italians call this “all’onda,” meaning “like a wave.” If it’s stiff and holds its shape in a mound, add another splash of warm broth and stir it through. Risotto that’s too tight is overcooked risotto.

internal-link: “spring dinner recipes for weekends”

Recipe 5: Shaved Asparagus Salad with Ramp Vinaigrette and Fresh Peas

This one surprised me the first time I made it. Raw asparagus sounds like a mistake — kind of woody, kind of bitter, not obviously appealing. But shaved into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler, it becomes something completely different: delicate, grassy, with a mild sweetness that plays beautifully against a sharp, punchy ramp vinaigrette. This salad uses all three of our star ingredients at once and requires zero cooking. It’s the recipe for when you want to show off spring produce without actually turning on the stove.

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 1 bunch thick asparagus (thick spears shave more easily than thin ones)
• ¾ cup fresh shelled peas — or sugar snap peas, sliced thin on a bias
• 1 cup pea shoots or baby arugula
• ¼ cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano (use a vegetable peeler directly on the block)
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts or chopped toasted almonds
• Flaky sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the Ramp Vinaigrette

• 3 ramps, bulbs and leaves both used
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1½ tablespoons white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey (or maple syrup for vegan)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Make the vinaigrette: roughly chop all parts of the ramps — bulbs and leaves. Add to a blender or small food processor with the vinegar, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. With the blender running, drizzle in the olive oil slowly to emulsify. Taste and adjust seasoning. The vinaigrette should be bright, garlicky, and slightly sharp — it will mellow once it’s on the salad.
2. Shave the asparagus: hold each spear at the tip and run a vegetable peeler firmly down the length of the stalk, pressing with moderate pressure. You’ll get long, thin ribbons. Rotate the spear as you go. Some pieces will break — that’s fine. This takes about 5 minutes once you get the rhythm of it.
3. Combine the asparagus ribbons, fresh peas (or snap peas), and pea shoots in a large bowl. Drizzle with about two-thirds of the vinaigrette and toss gently to coat. Taste — add more vinaigrette if needed, but don’t overdress it.
4. Transfer to a serving platter or individual plates. Top with shaved Parmigiano, toasted nuts, a few more pea shoots, flaky salt, and a crack of black pepper. Serve immediately.

Pro Tip: This salad does not hold well once dressed — the ribbons will wilt within 20 minutes. Make the vinaigrette and prep all the components ahead, but dress and assemble right before serving.

The Brilliant Parts (and the One Thing That Will Test Your Patience)

Pro Tips for Cooking Spring Ingredients Like You Know What You’re Doing

A few things I’ve learned the hard way so you don’t have to:

• Buy more ramps than you think you need. They cook down dramatically, and they’re only available for a few weeks. If you see them, buy a double bunch. The extras can be pickled, blended into butter, or frozen (blanch the leaves quickly first).
• Store asparagus like flowers. Trim the ends, stand the bunch upright in a glass or jar with an inch of water, cover loosely with a plastic bag, and refrigerate. They’ll stay fresh and crisp for up to 4 days instead of going limp in 24 hours.
• Don’t shell peas too far in advance. Once out of the pod, peas start converting their sugars to starch within a few hours. Shell them the day you’re cooking for maximum sweetness.
• Season boldly. Spring vegetables are delicate, but they can handle — and need — proper salt. Under-seasoned asparagus is the culinary equivalent of a good joke told too quietly. Nobody gets it.
• Acid is your friend. A squeeze of lemon or a splash of good vinegar at the end of cooking brightens every single one of these dishes. Don’t skip it.

Make-Ahead Strategy: How to Cook All Five Recipes Without Losing Your Mind

If you want to cook through all five recipes in a single weekend — which is a genuinely excellent way to spend a Saturday and Sunday in March — here’s how to organize it efficiently.

Friday evening (30 minutes): Make the ramp butter and the ramp vinaigrette. Both keep in the fridge for up to a week. Shell the peas for the weekend and store them in an airtight container. This front-loads the most time-consuming prep so Saturday morning feels easy.

Saturday morning: Make the charred asparagus with ramp butter and fried egg for breakfast. Use the same cast iron pan for both components — you’ll have it out anyway. While you eat, prep the ricotta mixture and pea topping for the crostini. Store separately in the fridge.

Saturday lunch: Assemble the crostini fresh. Toast the bread right before serving. This takes four minutes once everything is prepped.

Saturday dinner: Make the risotto. This is your main event for the weekend — give it the time and attention it deserves. Open a good bottle of white wine. The risotto uses some of it; you drink the rest.

Sunday: Make the frittata for brunch — it uses leftover ramps and asparagus from the week’s prep, and it’s genuinely one of the best hangover foods in existence, though I say that entirely hypothetically. Finish with the shaved asparagus salad at dinner, dressed and assembled right before eating.

Nutrition Information (Per Serving, Approximate)

Note: These are approximate values based on standard ingredients. Actual values will vary based on specific brands, portion sizes, and any substitutions made.

• Charred Asparagus with Ramp Butter and Fried Egg: ~320 calories | 14g protein | 8g carbs | 26g fat | 3g fiber
• Fresh Pea and Ricotta Crostini (3 pieces): ~280 calories | 11g protein | 32g carbs | 12g fat | 4g fiber
• Ramp and Asparagus Frittata: ~290 calories | 18g protein | 6g carbs | 22g fat | 2g fiber
• Spring Pea and Asparagus Risotto: ~420 calories | 14g protein | 58g carbs | 14g fat | 5g fiber
• Shaved Asparagus Salad with Ramp Vinaigrette: ~210 calories | 8g protein | 14g carbs | 14g fat | 4g fiber

Variations Worth Trying

No ramps? Here’s what to do. Garlic scapes (available slightly later in spring) work beautifully as a substitute in the butter, vinaigrette, and frittata. In a pinch, use a combination of 1 clove minced garlic plus 2 minced green onions per ramp — it won’t be identical, but it’ll get you close enough to the flavor profile that the recipes still sing.

Vegan versions. The crostini works perfectly without the Parmigiano — just increase the lemon and add a pinch of nutritional yeast to the ricotta (use a good vegan ricotta like Kite Hill). The shaved salad is already vegan if you skip the Parmesan. The risotto is vegan with vegetable broth, olive oil instead of butter, and a tablespoon of nutritional yeast in place of the Parmigiano.

Add protein. The charred asparagus dish is excellent with crispy prosciutto draped over the top before the egg goes on. The risotto is spectacular with seared scallops served alongside. The frittata can absorb smoked salmon or hot-smoked trout folded in with the eggs — extraordinary combination.

Storage and Leftovers

The frittata is the best keeper of the bunch — it stores well in the fridge for up to 3 days, wrapped tightly, and can be eaten cold, at room temperature, or gently reheated in a 300°F oven for 8 minutes.

The risotto will thicken considerably in the fridge. To reheat, add a splash of warm broth or water and stir over medium-low heat until it loosens back up. It won’t be quite as good as fresh, but it’s still very good — and it makes an excellent arancini base if you have enough leftover to form balls, bread them, and fry them. Which you should absolutely do.

The ramp butter keeps in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for up to 3 months. The ramp vinaigrette keeps refrigerated for up to 5 days — shake or stir before using.

The crostini components keep separately in the fridge for up to 4 hours. Once assembled, eat within 20 minutes. The shaved asparagus salad does not keep once dressed. Eat it immediately — no exceptions.

Cook It Before It’s Gone

Here’s the thing about spring produce: it doesn’t owe you anything. Ramps will be gone before April is over. Peak asparagus has maybe six weeks of real glory before it gets tough and bitter. Fresh peas have an even shorter window at your local market. This is food that exists in real time, not on a supermarket shelf year-round, and that seasonality is exactly what makes it worth cooking.

These five recipes are my argument for paying attention to what’s actually in season right now — not because it’s trendy, not because some chef told you to, but because the food genuinely tastes better. A ramp-butter-topped asparagus spear in March is one of the most purely satisfying bites of the year. The risotto is the kind of dinner that makes people go quiet for a minute after the first bite. The shaved salad looks like spring arrived on your plate.

Go to the market. Buy everything that looks alive and green and like it was just pulled out of the ground. Cook it this weekend. You’ll be glad you did — and you’ll spend the other eleven months of the year looking forward to when it all comes back.

internal-link: “seasonal cooking guides by month”

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Further Reading

Related on ken-saunders.com: Spring Finally Showed Up — And It Brought Ramps

If spring cooking has you fired up, these books are worth adding to your kitchen shelf:

• Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi — Ottolenghi’s approach to vegetables is exactly the inspiration you need for cooking seasonal produce with confidence and real flavor.
• Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables by Joshua McFadden — the definitive guide to cooking vegetables by season, with a March and spring section that will become your most-used reference for the next several months.
• The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers — a masterclass in ingredient-driven cooking that teaches you to think about food the way these recipes ask you to: start with what’s best right now, build everything else around it.