What to Buy in April: A No-Nonsense Guide to Spring Produce

Winter produce is depressing. Months of storage apples, sad greenhouse tomatoes, and root vegetables that all taste the same after a while. But April changes everything. The good stuff is finally showing up again.

Cooking with seasonal produce isn't some pretentious chef thing. It's practical. In-season vegetables and fruits taste better, cost less, and don't need much to be great. You won't need to drown April asparagus in sauce because it actually has flavor on its own.

Here's what to look for this month and what to do with all of it.

Asparagus

This is the star of spring. Late March through May is when asparagus is at its best, and you can taste the difference between fresh local asparagus and the imported stuff that's been sitting in cold storage for two weeks.

Pick bundles with tight, firm tips. If the tips are starting to open or look mushy, pass on them. Thicker stalks aren't tougher, that's a myth. They're actually more tender in the middle. Thin spears cook faster but can turn to mush if you look away for 30 seconds.

Best move: Snap off the woody ends (they'll break naturally at the right spot). Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 425F for 12 minutes. Squeeze half a lemon over them when they come out. That's it. Don't overthink asparagus.

Peas (Sugar Snap, Snow, English)

Fresh peas in April are candy. Seriously. Kids who won't touch a vegetable will eat fresh snap peas straight off the vine. If you've only ever had frozen peas, you owe it to yourself to try fresh ones this month.

Sugar snaps you eat pod and all. Snow peas are flat and great for stir-fries. English peas need shelling, which is tedious, but the flavor makes up for it.

Best move: Sugar snaps raw with a pinch of flaky salt. Snow peas in any stir-fry, added in the last 2 minutes. English peas tossed with pasta, butter, mint, and pecorino. Spring on a plate.

Radishes

Radishes are criminally underrated. Most people think of them as that thing you put on a salad for color. But April radishes, especially from a farmers market, have a peppery bite that wakes up everything around them.

Look for firm ones with bright, perky greens still attached. The greens are edible too. Sautee them with garlic like you would spinach.

Best move: Slice thin and put them on tacos. Or halve them, toss with butter and salt, and roast at 400F for 20 minutes. Roasting mellows the spice and makes them almost sweet. People who say they hate radishes haven't tried them roasted.

Spring Onions and Green Garlic

Regular onions work year-round. But spring onions and green garlic are a different experience. Spring onions are milder, sweeter, and you can use the whole thing including the greens. Green garlic looks like a scallion but tastes like garlic's gentler cousin.

Best move: Grill spring onions whole until charred. Chop green garlic and use it anywhere you'd use regular garlic but at twice the amount since it's mellower. Both are incredible in scrambled eggs.

Strawberries

April strawberries from California are already showing up, and they're worlds apart from the giant, pale, flavorless berries you see in December. Look for smaller berries that are red all the way through. No white shoulders. They should smell like strawberries from three feet away.

Best move: Eat them plain. Or slice them over vanilla ice cream with a tiny pinch of black pepper (trust me on the pepper). For something fancier, macerate them with a tablespoon of sugar and a splash of balsamic for 30 minutes.

Artichokes

Artichoke season peaks in April and May. They look intimidating but they're not hard to work with once you've done it a couple times. Look for tight, heavy artichokes that squeak when you squeeze them.

Best move: Trim the top inch, pull off the small outer leaves, cut in half, scoop out the fuzzy choke. Steam for 25 minutes. Dip in melted butter with lemon. Simple and satisfying.

Fava Beans

Favas are work. You have to shell them, blanch them, and peel each individual bean. It takes forever. But the flavor is buttery, nutty, and unlike any other bean you've eaten. They're a spring-only treat and worth the effort at least once.

Best move: Blanch shelled favas for 2 minutes, ice bath, peel. Mash half of them with olive oil, lemon, garlic, and salt for a spread. Leave the rest whole and toss everything on grilled bread. Top with pecorino and a drizzle of good olive oil.

The Shopping Strategy

Don't plan your meals before you go to the market. That's backward for seasonal cooking. Go see what looks good, buy those things, then figure out dinner. This is the opposite of how most cooking advice works, but it's how you actually end up with the best tasting food.

Buy what's abundant and cheap. If asparagus is piled high and the price is low, that's what you're eating this week. If strawberries look tired and expensive, skip them and wait another couple weeks.

Talk to the farmers if you're at a market. Ask what just came in. Ask what they're eating at home. You'll get better tips than any recipe blog can give you.

One Last Thing

Seasonal cooking sounds like it requires more skill, but it's actually easier. Great produce doesn't need complicated recipes. Salt, fat, acid, heat. That's usually all it takes when the ingredients are good. The fanciest technique in the world can't fix a February tomato. But an April asparagus spear with just olive oil and salt? That's a perfect bite.