It’s officially spring, and I couldn’t be more excited, because it’s one of my favorite times of year!! The sun’s out, the birds are chirping, and there’s finally signs of spring produce at the market.

Now I feel like the key to cooking with spring produce (especially ingredients like arugula, peas, etc. that are more delicate) is to lean into simplicity. Which goes against everything I was taught. Growing up, spices and aromatics went into everything we ate. But I feel like spring produce shines best alone (aka with a few supporting elements).

So everything I’ve been making since the beginning of March has been simple (and VERY green).

Sharing my favorite spring greens orzo that utilizes tons of herbs and arugula, a couscous salad that might just be my favorite salad ever, and my method for making pistachio butter (a highly requested video hehe) along with ways I’m using it.

• Spring Greens Orzo: I like to think of this dish as an herby arugula pesto, but sans nuts. Think buttery orzo tossed in a creamy arugula sauce with garlic, fresh peas, and toasted pine nuts.

• Spring Couscous Salad: I’ve been on somewhat of an arugula and peas kick (I’ve been putting them in everything). So the base of this salad is loads of arugula and peas, paired with an exorbitant amount of herbs, plus pearl couscous and red onions. All tossed in a garlicky olive oil marinade with za’atar, extra sumac, and cumin. Yeah, it’s my new favorite salad!!!

• Cardamom Pistachio Oatmeal: One of my favorite oatmeal bowls - it’s loaded with cardamom and vanilla, naturally sweetened with sticky medjool dates, and topped with drippy homemade pistachio butter. Heaven!

• Homemade Pistachio Butter: When I shared my pistachio rice krispie treats I did not expect them to pop off the way they did, and of course there were tons of questions on how I made my pistachio butter. So breaking down below how I make it (video tutorial here).

But first, two super important things:

1. Use the right pistachios - I love Trader Joe’s raw unsalted shelled pistachios, they yield the most green butter.

2. You need a food processor. I initially tried this in my blender and it was a disaster. Nothing beats the power of a food processor (especially when you need to let this run for 20ish minutes).

Little more on pistachios: depending on the pistachio variety you’re using, you could end up with a brownish green butter - California pistachios tend to yield a more muddy green butter, whereas Turkish pistachios will yield the most intense green color. However, for convenience, I swear by the raw-shelled pistachios from Trader Joe’s (you don’t need to blanch/peel them).

Written details here:

• To a food processor (used my mom’s Cuisinart 14-cup food processor that has served us well for 30 years lol), add 16 oz or 454 g of pistachios. turn the processor on and let it run.

• The pistachio butter will go through 3 phases before it starts forming butter. it’ll go from a flour-like consistency to a wet sand texture, and then it’ll start to clump into a large ball. at this point, stop the processor, scrape it down, and let it run again.

• Let the butter continue to run – it’ll form a paste and eventually form a smooth and drippy butter after 25-30 minutes (total) of blending. Your butter might take less time (15 minutes), but I’m trying to be realistic here, because the main ingredient in this pistachio butter is time.

Favorite ways to use this pistachio butter: my pistachio rice krispie treats, cardamom pistachio oatmeal, pistachio date bark/pistachio stuffed dates, and swirled through my pistachio chocolate chunk cookies.

Ok that’s all for this week! Happy Spring!

XO, Yasmeen