Spring brings an abundance of sweet produce: fruits and vegetables.

Some of our favorites are fleeting: morel mushrooms, ramps, and green garlic.

Sauté them with asparagus and garlic: truly delicious!

Here’s a full list of spring fruits and vegetables, and our menu for a spring-focused dinner.

Don’t overlook rhubarb, a spring favorite that, while botanically a vegetable, makes delicious desserts.

Here’s more about the spring vegetables you shouldn’t miss. You’ll find the familiar as well as those you may not have tried:

 
Check out more in the infographic below.

A favorite spring vegetable: green peas, also known as spring peas and English peas. Note the pea blossoms, leaves and shoots, which are delicacies (photo © The Chef’s Garden).

[1] Serve this gnocchi appetizer in small portions, or make it into a lunch-size salad atop greens (photo © DeLallo Foods).

[2] Cook and drain the gnocchi (photo © iGourmet).

[3] Roasted red pepper strips, a.k.a. pimento or pimiento (photo © Monjardin)./span>

[4] Artichoke hearts (photo © La Tienda).

[5] Genoa salami—salame in Italian (photo © DeLallo Foods).

[6] Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham) (photo © Di Bruno Bros.).

First, let us say that National Gnocchi Day occurs on the 29th of every month, in Argentina.

We’d never pass up a reason to eat gnocchi. So here’s a recipe adapted from DeLallo Foods.

It’s an appetizer, not the main dish.

In fact, it’s gnocchi antipasto!

We preferred to bulk up the antipasto by placing it on a bed of lettuce, whether for an appetizer or as a luncheon salad.

There are more yummy gnocchi recipes below.

The history of National Gnocchi Day is also below.

> What Are Gnocchi?

> The History Of Gnocchi
 
 
RECIPE: GNOCCHI ANTIPASTO

Ingredients For 4 Appetizer Portions

 
For The Dressing

 
Preparation

1. COOK the gnocchi according to package instructions. Drain, rinse with cool water to stop cooking, and let cool for at least 30 minutes.

2. PREPARE the dressing. Whisk together in a small bowl the vinegar, Italian seasoning, lemon juice, and garlic. While whisking, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Whisk to further emulsify as needed.

3. TOSS together in a large bowl the gnocchi, peppers, artichokes, salami, and prosciutto. Add in the dressing and toss to coat.

4. PLATE over the lettuce, if using. Garnish with basil and lemon zest.

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*Italian Seasoning Recipe: If you don’t have an Italian seasoning blend, you can combine 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon dried sage. Keep it in a tightly closed jar. If you don’t have marjoram, use 2 teaspoons of oregano instead.

†Substitute fresh-grated Parmesan cheese.
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MORE GNOCCHI RECIPES

 
 
THE HISTORY OF GNOCCHI DAY IN ARGENTINA

The story credits the occasion to the Italian immigration to Argentina (their descendants now make up about 50% of Argentina’s population.

This Argentine custom has been a tradition since the first wave of Italian immigrants migrated to the country in 1814 [source].

Since the 29th is almost the end of the month, many families were tight on cash as they waited for their next paycheck, which came on the first of the month.

Potatoes and flour are inexpensive ingredients that enabled the housewife to make a filling (and tasty!) meal.

Some say that the 29th commemorates a patron saint of Venice, San Pantaleon, who was canonized on the 29th, so that each month, the 29th is celebrated as his feast day [source].

What About Good Luck?

As people from the “old country” brought their superstitions along with their recipes, a superstition accompanies the gnocchi.

It assures the eater that good luck may be on the horizon.

 
The tradition spread to neighboring Paraguay and Uruguay, and hey: Will someone please bring it up north to the U.S.A.?

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

This blue rice (photo #1) is made by steeping the water with the butterfly pea flower, which colors it naturally.

The flower is used to brew herbal tea in Thailand, just by steeping the dried blue pea flowers in water.

 
Substitute dried butterfly pea flowers for tea in a 1:1 ratio.

Here’s more about and how to use the butterfly pea to make blue and purple tea.
 
 
COOKING WITH BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWERS

The flowers are also used as a natural food dye in Southeast Asian dishes, particularly in Malaysia and Thailand.

Rice is the most common food to get colored blue.

Nasi kerabu is a Malaysian cuisine rice dish in which blue-colored rice is eaten with dried fish or fried chicken, crackers, pickles and other salads: a feast!

As a bonus, the butterfly pea flower is packed with health-promoting antioxidants.

 
Instead of flowers, you can purchase ground flowers that dissolve instantly.
 
BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWERS IN AMERICAN DISHES

Since the flower steeps in water, milk or other liquid, it can add color to other foods.

Beyond rice, how about pasta?

How about some blue rice pudding with golden and purple raisins, or a blue cream pie? Blue vodka?

Why not sweeten the blue tea and freeze it for ice pops.

But then…why not just use McCormick blue food coloring?

You certainly can; but not if you want to avoid artificial chemicals.
 
 
NATURAL FOOD COLOR

The color obtained from the butterfly pea flower is totally natural.

But there’s another way to naturally color your food.

If you’re seeking to avoid the artificial dyes in the big commercial food colors, The Watkins Co. makes an all-natural food colorings.

The colors are derived from pure vegetable juices and spices, including beet juice, turmeric and spirulina extract.
Here they are.
 
 
RECIPE: BLUE RICE

This is a simple recipe to make blue rice.

In Asia, lemongrass is typically added for more flavor. Here’s a recipe with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.

The dried butterfly pea flowers are available on Amazon and at some Asian markets, as is lemongrass powder and dried kaffir lime leaves.

Ingredients

 
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**The typical water:white rice ratio is 2 cups water to 1 cup rice.

 
Preparation

1. BOIL the water. Add the butterfly pea flowers and wait for a few minutes till the color turned dark blue. Usually, the flowers will lose their color in the process.

Don’t worry if the water is too dark. The cooked rice will be a lighter color. You can squeeze the flowers to extract the remaining color.

2. STRAIN or otherwise remove the flowers from the water.

3. WASH the rice and drain,

4. COOK in the butterfly pea water, according to your own rice-cooking technique.
 

WHAT IS THE BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWER?

It’s he flower of the plant commonly known as blue pea or butterfly pea.

It is also known as Asian pigeonwings, bluebell vine, blue pea, butterfly pea, cordofan pea and Darwin pea [source].

The plant is native to tropical equatorial Asia, including locations such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines.

The bright blue flower is used as a natural coloring in various recipes. It is one of the most vivid blue colors to exist in nature.

The plant species belongs to the Fabaceae family, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family.

The family includes such familiar foods as beans, carob, chickpeas, licorice, peanuts and peas.

Now for the racy part: The botanical name of the butterfly pea plant is Clitoria ternatea.

The botanist who named saw that the flower had the shape of female genitalia, and gave the genus the Latin name Clitoria, from clitoris (photo #7).

You can see why others call it the butterfly pea plant.

[1] You don’t have to get this fancy; a plain scoop of rice will do. But for a special presentation, use a food mold and top with mango curls (photos #1, #4 and #5 © Suncore Foods).

[2] How the butterfly pea flower colors (and flavors) water (photo © Newby Teas).

[3] How about a blue latte? Here’s how to make it from Oh How Civilized (photo © Oh How Civilized).

[4] How about a blue cream pie? Bring cream or milk to a simmer; then add the butterfly pea flowers, turn off the heat, and let sit for 10 minutes.

[5] Dried butterfly pea flowers are available on Amazon and elsewhere.

[6] Blue ice cubes in your blue iced tea? Why not? (photo © Anshu | Unsplash).

[7] Butterfly pea flower (photo © India Mart).