Best Spring Cleaning Tips From Chef David Burke
It's springtime, and so that means it's time to do a little spring cleaning with your refrigerator. To get you ready for warmer days, here's an outline for how to stock your fridge and what you can get rid of to make room.
The must-buy grocery items for spring are asparagus, fava beans, fiddleheads, spring garlic, English peas, morels, ramps, radishes, fluke, striped bass, fruit, and so much more. Before running to the store, make room in your refrigerator. Be sure to remove all winter root vegetables from your refrigerator and make room for the simplicity and deliciousness.
While it's tempting, don't over-buy over buy at the store — part of springtime fruits and vegetables' luster is their freshness, so you only want to buy just enough so that you can ensure you're using them at their peak. A great tip for buying fruits and vegetables is to pick the ones that are just on the verge of ripening, so that they can finish doing so at home.
If you can't help it and find yourself with a surplus of fruits and vegetables, there are plenty of ways to extend their lifetime. If any of your produce is beginning to lose its shine, turn it into pesto, sauces, and chutney for a delicious topping to grilled fish or pork chops. Throw any turned fruits into a salad, which will help them last a few more days, and to make it extra flavorful, buy a bottle of nectar juice to keep on hand. If your apples get bruised before you can enjoy them whole, juice them into fresh apple juice or chop them up into chutney.
Spring is here, so get your mind in gear. Starting planning your springtime dishes and use these suggestions for inspiration:
- Fava bean and pecorino cheese salad with citrus.
- Grilled spring onion soup with shrimp and croutons
- Pan-seared local white fish with salsa verde
- Steamed local asparagus and poached egg
David Burke is a world-renowned chef and restaurateur. To learn more about him, visit his website and his Facebook page, and follow him on Twitter @ChefDavidBurke.