Local chefs and farmers tell us their favorite spring produce, and how to cook with it

Birds are chirping, it’s light out long past 4 p.m., and everyone’s allergies are starting to kick up. Spring is well and truly here.

In Philly, we have access to the regular bounty of spring: radishes, peas, and strawberries. But within the spring season, there are hyper-seasonal offerings we are showered with for just a few weeks per year. We’re talking fava, fiddlehead ferns, morels, and the big one: ramps. The downside of this microseasonal produce is the window for grabbing some is blink-and-you’ll-miss-it.

At East Passyunk’s Ember and Ash, a self-described “wood-fired seasonal cooking” restaurant, chef David Feola embodies seasonal and nose-to-tail cooking. It’s not uncommon to see dishes with blood, offal, and local produce on Feola’s ever-changing menu.

Feola prioritizes designing his menu collaboratively with local, seasonal produce driving his team’s creativity. “While a dish may come up that’s [inspired by] a certain part of the world, we use [that] as a base for what’s coming into season,” he says. “When we know garlic scapes or paw paws are coming into season, we try to build a dish around those.”

Feola says he’s most excited about spring broccoli. “I think it so often gets overlooked. Local broccoli always gets me excited.” And who could blame him? Fresh spring broccoli is more tender and flavorful than its year-round counterparts, with a distinct green flavor and slightly sweet bite. At home, Feola can be found adding fresh, charred broccoli to sandwiches.

Broccoli’s inherent sweetness is the perfect invitation for a slightly bitter note from the charring, plus spring broccoli on the grill gets meltingly tender but retains a bite in the stem in just a few minutes. Grilled broccoli plays well with a spicy, creamy sauce and something pickle-y. Try adding chili mayo (stir a scoop of Calabrian chili oil into a dollop of mayo, with a generous squeeze of lemon) and some quick-pickled onions for an easy spring sandwich.

Some local groceries stock seasonal produce, but for the most part, you’ll have to seek these fleeting greens at farmers markets and other local vendors.

If you’re hunting for seasonal mushrooms, like giant hen-of-the-woods, look no further than Primordia Mushroom Farm, purveyors of myriad mushroom varieties , which are mostly grown year-round in their indoor, 17-acre farm based in Lenhartsville, Pa. They also specialize in hyper-local foraged items like ramps and fiddlehead ferns. Primordia can be found at markets across the city, including the Headhouse, Clark Park, and Chestnut Hill farmers markets year-round.

If you’re looking for mid-spring alliums like spring onions, check out Landisdale Farms. Spring is synonymous with spring onions, scallions, green garlic, and of course, ramps.

Usually planted in late fall, right before the first freeze, alliums pop up right when temperatures starts to warm. They’re usually one of the first abundant crops partly because, surprisingly, most animals will leave them alone, and they’re superb pollinators, so the bees just adore them. Many types of spring alliums, like spring onions or green garlic, are the immature version of regular crops. The young versions are harvested before the fully formed versions would be ready in summer, so they come in season much earlier. (And be on the lookout: Landisdale Farms also have some of the best wild strawberries around.)

“‘Seasonal produce’ means growing fruits and veggies in the conditions to which they’re best adapted,” says Lindsey Shapiro, a co-owner of Root Mass Farm, an organic-focused farm in Bally, Pa. “With seasonal produce, we take our cues from the plants, not the other way around.”

This strategy of listening to the land means farmers like Shapiro and her partner and husband, Landon Jefferies, are on the vegetables’ growing timeline, though they have a few tricks to circumvent that.

Shapiro says that starting crops like peas or beets in the greenhouse to then transplant them to the field gives them a jump on the season. The farm doesn’t produce year-round, but you can find Shapiro and Jefferies’ produce at Headhouse in Society Hill on Sundays through December and Frankford Transportation Center on Tuesdays from June to October. Their website lists over 30 different veggies as well as berries, melons, and 10 types of herbs, so there is lots to choose from over the market season. Make sure to get some of their impossibly delicious tender lettuces.

When it comes to eating seasonally, don’t feel beholden too strictly to the calendar; Feola suggests a more intuitive approach. “People tend to think that once March or April come around it’s automatically time for asparagus. But that isn’t local. Local farms won’t have asparagus for another month or two after that,” he says. “In season isn’t about a calendar deadline, it’s about what’s growing around us.”

But some things always seem to pop up first as the season begins to turn; Shapiro says she’s always on the lookout for arugula, spinach, and radishes since they have pretty quick “days to maturity.” Other crops just can’t be rushed. “Some things, like strawberries, are mostly out of our hands. They come when they’re ready, and it always feels like a gift.”

Late May: Chives, mint, alfalfa sprouts, watercress, radishes, peas, lettuces, asparagus

Early June: Carrots, kale, strawberries, early blueberries, rhubarb, chard, early cherries, summer squash, early tomatoes, kohlrabi

Alliums (spring onions, scallions, etc.): Char them on the grill for a few seconds and add them into a gremolata or chimichurri. (Try tossing a few heads of broccoli on the grill like chef David Feola while you’re at it.)

Ramps: Melt some butter, add in your ramps to give them a quick sauté, and toss with a bit of pasta water and your favorite pasta shape,. Jazz it up by adding blanched peas, favas, and asparagus, plus a zealous amount of lemon zest for a take on the classic pasta primavera.

Tender greens (pea tendrils, baby spinach, arugula): These need nothing more than a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon to amplify their flavor.

Radishes: Pile them atop a piece of crusty bread liberally spread with butter plus a pinch of flaky salt.