Spring Onions
Because of their mild flavor, spring onions taste great in raw salads; they can also be grilled, roasted, or stir-fried. Use them in place of onions or scallions in a dish, or consider one of these ideas:
• Glaze onions in a sauté pan and serve as an agro-dolce appetizer.
• Reserve the tougher green tops for use in vegetable or chicken stock.
• Stir into mashed potatoes to make the classic Irish dish, champ.
• Caramelize and purée them in a creamy bisque.

Savory Swiss Chard Tart
Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 ounces bacon, cut into lardons
• 1 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, ribs removed
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream and sour cream combined
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
• Handful raisins
• Handful toasted pine nuts
• 1 deep tart shell, pre-baked in a 9-inch springform pan or a frozen deep dish pie dough, thawed
Directions
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a saute pan and fry the shallots until soft and translucent.
• Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
• Remove to a plate. In the same pan, fry the bacon until the fat has rendered and the lardons are crispy.
• Remove to the plate with the shallots.
• Divide the chard leaves from the ribs: chop the ribs quite small and shred the leaves.
• First, fry the ribs in the bacon fat until tender. (Cook’s Note: You may want to cover the pan for a few minutes to speed up the process.) Add the chard leaves to the pan, cover, and wilt, about 3 minutes.
• Beat the eggs together with the creme fraiche, and season with salt, and pepper
• In a large bowl, toss the shallots, bacon, chard stems and leaves, cheese, raisins, and pine nuts, to combine evenly.
• Taste, and season. Fill the tart shell with the vegetable mixture, and pour over the cream mixture.
• Bake until the tart has set, about 30 minutes.
• Remove the tart from the oven, and cool. Serve at room temperature.

Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli

Ingredients
• 2 heads broccoli, separated into florets
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, toss broccoli florets with the extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper and garlic.
• Spread the broccoli out in an even layer on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until florets are tender enough to pierce the stems with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove and transfer to a serving platter.
• Squeeze lemon juice liberally over the broccoli before serving for a refreshing, tangy finish.

Carciofi al Forno

Ingredients
• 12 to 16 Baby Artichokes
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Dry White Wine
• 3 Cloves Garlic, Peeled & Crushed
• For The Topping:
• 1 Cup Bread Crumbs
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest, Finely Chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon 3 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Additional Oil For Drizzling
Directions
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Clean the artichokes by peeling the stems, chopping off the top third, and peeling off the outer, tough leaves.
• Keep the prepared artichokes in a bowl of water with a little lemon added to prevent discoloration while you finish cleaning the rest.
• NOTE: I also use frozen artichoke hearts and bottoms
• In a small caserole dish large enough to hold them all, add the artichokes, the garlic, olive oil and white wine.
• Add a little water if needed to bring the level up to almost cover the artichokes, cover, and then bake them in the preheated oven until they are tender.
• Usually this will take between 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the artichokes from the oven, and increase the temperature to 425 degrees F.
• Pour off any excess liquid from the cooked chokes, and set aside. Mix together the ingredients listed for the topping, and sprinkle this over the artichokes in the casserole dish. Drizzle on a little additional olive oil, and bake the archokes just until the topping becomes golden brown.
• Serve immediately, or at room temperature.

Fennel Pasta

Ingredients:
• 1/2 lb. spaghetti or other long noodles
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp. red chile flakes or 1 small red or green chile, minced
• 1 bulb fennel, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed (use a mortar and pestle or bash with the bottom of a frying pan)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup white wine or broth
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Parmesan, pecorino, or asiago cheese for garnishing
Directions:
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until tender to the bite, reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid before you drain the noodles.
• Save time by cooking the “sauce” while the pasta cooks; save dishes by cooking the sauce in the pasta pot after you’ve drained the noodles. *
• Heat the oil in a large frying or saute pan or the pasta pot over medium high heat.
• Add garlic and cook, stirring, until it just starts to turn golden and brown at the edges.
• Add chile flakes or fresh chile, stir to combine
• . Add fennel, fennel seeds, and salt and cook, stirring, until fennel softens a bit, about 2 minutes.
• Add wine or broth, cover, reduce heat to medium low, and cook until fennel is quite tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add parsley, stir to combine.
• Add drained pasta and reserved pasta liquid, stir to combine, increase heat back to medium high, and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed/evaporated and all the flavors combine, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Serve with plenty of parmesan, pecorino, or whatever hard cheese you like on top of your pasta.