early spring green things 🌱
plus: black bean confetti salad 2.0, the diaspora spice co. cookbook, and a visit to the chef's garden
Monday, March 16, 2026
Good afternoon !
Why You Should Be Having More Fun with Butter [Garden & Gun]
This weekend I flew to windy Ohio to visit The Chef’s Garden, a regenerative farm in Milan that grows the produce that’s on some of the best restaurant tables in America — and available for the rest of us, too. I was there for a potato-themed dinner cooked by their executive chef, Jamie Simpson, and it was an incredible treat to taste all of the flavors they’re able to grow into (with that rich soil) and coax out of (with expert cooking) the humblest of starchy vegetables. As a potato enthusiast, I was in heaven. I also stole some homemade chocolate covered-potato chips out of the kitchen before I left; honestly that’s what they get for leaving them unattended.
I cannot recommend enough being on a farm in mid-March, with or without a pile of jubilant golden retrievers on your lap, when you’re utterly sick of winter and looking for signs of life — green is sprouting up everywhere. Green foods that make us hopeful for spring is also the the newsletter theme this week. Below, a collection of recipes that I hope ease us out of winter with lighter hand and brighter palette, while respecting that we haven’t been able to banish our parkas just yet.
But that’s not all! Today we’re chatting with Sana Javeri Kadri and Asha Loupy of Diaspora Spice Co. Their cookbook, The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook, is out now and it’s full of vibrant inspiration and big flavors.
Plus, I’ve got a new recipe for you, a colorful update of one of the already most colorful salads in the Smitten Kitchen archives. I hope you’re hungry.
Cheers,
Deb
I’ve written three cookbooks and one audiobook and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Not sure which one to check out first? Take a look at the recipe index and see which collection jumps out at you most.
black bean confetti salad 2.0
New! A forever favorite salad, more vibrant than ever: more lime, heat, crunch, herbs, and avocado too. It’s a little bit party snack, but an easy lunch too. We scoop it up with tortilla chips and marvel as the giant bowl disappears.
eggs florentine
An ode to brunch at home with a you-can-totally-do-this recipe for my forever favorite brunch dish, Eggs Florentine with the best kind of egg (poached), spinach, a butter-griddled english muffin and a gentle cascade of the answer to a question nobody but the French, bless them, would ever ask, “Why don’t we make mayonnaise with butter instead of oil?”
avocado salad with carrot-ginger dressing
This restaurant-style avocado salad has the most unmissable, habit-forming carrot-ginger dressing and makes enough for leftovers, which is good because we will want to eat it again tomorrow and all the days after that.
broccoli rubble farro salad
A quite simple but very kicky (garlic! lemon! pepper flakes! pecorino!) approach to a farro salad that’s as good cold (potlucks, picnics, and weekday lunches) as it is warm (with an egg on top, crispy crumbs, or even burrata) that I cannot wait to have for dinner tonight.
swiss chard pancakes
Anytime pancakes are one of my favorite things. These thick but crepe-like pancakes take all of 5 minutes to prepare the batter and 15 more to fry up, and are loaded with greens and herbs.
spinach and artichoke pan pizza
A bright green spinach pesto and artichoke heart pizza we can’t get enough of and a love letter to failproof pan pizzas, so perfect for home cooks.
spinach and ricotta gnudi
Soft, pillowy cheese dumplings fried in browned butter and sage — basically ravioli without the pasta wrapper — are the perfect early spring food, very green yet somehow just as cozy as a scarf on a blustery day. [Video below!]
broken pasta with pork ragu
Looking for a special but not too daunting weekend dinner? I credit the bright salad-y finish of parmesan, lemon, and sharp arugula with making this ragu feel spring-like but still cozy.
skirt steak salad with blue cheese
Steak salads are a weekend favorite of ours because they check so many boxes -- a little luxurious, lots of greens, and a bright vinaigrette makes them anything but sleepy. Add a crusty baguette and some wine and wonder why you don’t do this more often.
pistachio cake
The pistachio cake of my dreams is absolutely green with pistachio intensity, uncluttered by many extraneous flavors, and requires no prepared paste, multiple bowls or finicky steps. It’s that good.
key lime pie
It has always been too long since I last had a really spectacular homemade key lime pie. It tastes like an in-kitchen vacation, especially on a cloudy day, and this one is a cinch too. We really, really should.
AN INTERVIEW WITH SANA JAVERI KADRI & ASHA LOUPY
My shelves are full of wonderful cookbooks I don’t get to talk about enough, so I’ve added this section so you can get to know the cool people behind them. Today we’re chatting with Sana Javeri Kadri and Asha Loupy of Diaspora Spice Co. Their cookbook, The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook: Seasonal Home Cooking from South Asia’s Best Spice Farms, is out now.
1. What inspired your cookbook?
Sana: What inspired the cookbook really comes from the heart of the work we’ve been doing at Diaspora Spice Co. for years. In many ways, the book is a natural extension of that mission. So much of Diaspora’s work is about culture and about reclaiming and centering the stories of the people who grow the spices. I often think about my own colonized brain. When I used to think about black pepper, for example, I’d picture tomato soup with pepper on top or steak with pepper sauce, which are very British and French references. Despite growing up in India, I didn’t immediately think of the Kerala-style dishes that celebrate black pepper, even though black pepper is indigenous to Kerala, not far from where I grew up. Those culinary traditions and histories exist in regional cooking and oral memory, but they haven’t always been documented or widely celebrated. At Diaspora, we’ve always been focused on making these incredible spices accessible to home cooks around the world while also honoring the farmers and communities who grow them. This cookbook felt like the next step in that journey. It was about making the recipes accessible too. We wanted to center farmers’ kitchens, tell their stories, and bring those flavors and histories into people’s homes in a meaningful way.
2. What recipe are you the most proud of in the book, or felt the most triumphant when you got it right?
Asha: The most technically difficult recipe in the book, Palak Rista (Kashmiri Lamb Meatballs with Spinach, page 170), was a beast to develop. For many of the recipes we learned, the biggest challenge was adapting the technique and cooking method for the American kitchen. Traditionally, these lamb meatballs—a staple in Kashmiri Wazwan, a feast of 30+ mutton dishes from the whole animal—are made by pounding lamb and some of its fat with a huge mallet on stone. This process breaks the meat down, while also aerating and emulsifying the mixture to create tender, bouncy meatballs. Asking a home cook stateside to pull out a big stone and mallet was certainly out of the question. The texture of the meatballs is similar to beef balls found in pho, so my research led me to Vietnamese recipes that relied on a good ol' stand mixer to combine and aerate the meatball mixture. That technique became my base along with the flavors—fennel, ginger, and green and black cardamom—we learned during our time with the wazas (the men who cook Wazan) in Kashmir. The meatballs simmer in a spicy, aromatic broth, absorbing all that goodness, puffing up, and becoming pleasingly buoyant. When I got both the taste and texture right on these, it was 100% a fist pump moment. If you're looking for an afternoon cooking project, this recipe is for you.
3. What recipe is so low-effort, high-reward that it’s worth cooking for dinner tonight, even if we’re tired and don’t want to cook?
Asha: The Meen Moilee (Kerala Style Coconut Turmeric Fish Curry, page 138) is the I've-had-a-long-day-and-can't-bear-to-cook dinner that I come back to time and time again. The mildly spiced, silky gravy, rich in coconut milk and flavored with turmeric, curry leaf, and green cardamom, comes together in less than 15 minutes. It's one of those sauces that tastes like more than the sum of its parts—and will certainly have you scraping every last drop. Traditionally, white fish is nestled in to gently poach until flaky and succulent, but shrimp or mussels are also fantastic, quick-cooking seafood options. I love scooping everything up with buttery, flaky paratha (I use frozen ones because who doesn't adore a store-bought helping hand?) or serving it with piping hot rice. It banishes any weeknight doldrums and is an equally delightful dish for easy entertaining, too.
4. What’s something you wish more people knew about your book?
Sana: I think when people think about South Asian food, especially in the West, they often picture things like butter chicken, palak paneer, and naan. It’s this heavy North Indian Mughlai restaurant food that has almost become the default image of our cuisine. But that’s really not how most of us across South Asia eat at home, and we’re talking about a region with 1.6 billion people. The way we eat at home is actually much more produce-forward, seasonal, fresh, and simple. And because this book sources recipes from farmers, that philosophy comes through even more strongly. So while the book will teach you how to make some classics like dal and different flatbreads, it also shows that South Asian food can be cooked in tune with the seasons and with beautiful, farm-fresh ingredients. I also hope it helps people understand spices better. You don’t need 20 spices that feel overwhelming or confusing. You just need to know how to use five or six well and how to layer them at the right moments to really bring out their flavor.
Thank you, Sana and Asha! You can order The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook right here.
spinach and ricotta gnudi
The Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser is a lower-walled enameled cast-iron Dutch oven that works as well as a deep sauté pan as it does a soup pot, roasting pan, or even casserole dish that perfectly fits a pasta bake. It’s the ideal size and usability (dishwasher safe!) for everyday cooking. Not a week has gone by in the 14 years I’ve had mine when I don’t cook in it at least three times, so when it was no longer sold in U.S. stores, I asked Staub — a French cast-iron manufacturer originally from Alsace; you can watch me tour the forge/factory here! — if they would partner with me to bring it back, because I knew you’ll fall in love with the pan too. We launched the Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser in spring 2024. The Braiser is now sold exclusively at Williams-Sonoma and available in eight gorgeous new colors! The newest two — a classy off-white (pardon, French Crème) and a soft pink (Pink Peony, which you know I sing to the tune of Pink Peony Club) — launched just last month.
Cranberry (bright red)
Grenadine (deep red)
Sage (light green)
Basil (dark green)
La Mer (dark blue-green)
Sapphire (dark blue)
(New!) French Crème (off-white) ✨
(New!) Pink Peony (soft pink) ✨
The Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser Recipe Starter Pack: Oh, you did get a new braiser? I’m so happy for you. Here are a few recipes you can kick off your cooking with!
Braiser: An entire category of recipes on smittenkitchen.com
My “I Dream Of Paris” Menu for the French Crème launch: Dijon Roast Chicken, French Onion Soup for a Crowd, and a Perfect Apple Tarte Tatin
Baked Ziti with Meatballs and Ricotta (Williams-Sonoma, Video)
Apple Butterscotch Crisp (Zwilling, Video)
Braised Chickpeas with Kale and Burrata (Zwilling)
shop my favorites
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more that you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most. This isn’t just an Amazon storefront. For each item, I attempt to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.
See you next week!
