Food
Spring Recipes and Wine Pairings
Get set for a fabulous season of flavour-packed alfresco dining opportunities featuring spring recipes and wine pairings.
There’s no better time to lose those winter layers and enjoy lunch in the warming sun, so we’ve come up with some of our favourite spring recipes and wine pairings to help you savour and share a season of deliciousness.
SHOP SPRING WINE
Before we get started, let’s look at what fruit and vegetables are in season in spring. In Australia we’re blessed to be able to access great quality fruit and vegetables all year round, but there’s something very special about creating wonderful meals with in-season produce. Not only is it more economical, but it’s also better for you, and better for the environment.
What fruit and vegetables are typically in season in Spring?
Vegies: Artichoke, asparagus, several varieties of beans, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, leek, lettuce, mushrooms, onion, parsnip, peas, potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, spinach, tomato, zucchini.
Fruits: Apples, avocados, bananas, blueberries, grapefruits, honeydew, lemon, lime, lychees, mandarins, mangoes, oranges, pineapples, rhubarb, strawberries, watermelon.
Herbs: Basil, chilli, chives, coriander, dill, kaffir lime leaves, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme.
What vegetables are typically in season in Spring?
What fruits are typically in season in Spring?
What herbs are typically in season in Spring?
Spring Salad Recipes
Sauvignon Blanc’s herbaceous undertones mean it works exceptionally well alongside spring vegetables and herbs like the artichoke, asparagus, baby spinach, rocket, coriander and thyme featured in this delicious salad. Other suggested white wine pairings include Pinot Grigio, Grüner Veltliner, or Albariño.
Simple to prepare and with a riot of textures like crisp, crunchy, smooth and creamy, this avocado spring salad calls for an equally crisp white wine such as a Riesling, Vermentino or Fiano.
Spring Vegetable Recipes
A white wine with some natural acidity like a Vermentino, Fiano or Pinot Grigio is perfect to balance the richness of the eggplant, and the mayonnaise or aioli. A lovely dry Aussie Rosé is also a great pairing.
Lyndey Milan's charred spring onions with anchovy dressing and hazelnuts recipe is made for a fresh Euro-style white, like Pinot Grigio.
Spring Soup Recipes
Spring in a bowl, this wonderfully vibrant green vegetable soup is so delicious and visually appealing. Filled with zucchini, peas, broad beans, butter beans, asparagus, spinach, and basil, it makes a beautifully fresh starter paired with Chenin Blanc.
Lyndey Milan's Stracciatella soup with greens is best paired with a fresh and lightly herbaceous white like a Sauvignon Blanc. Including poached chicken, eggs, zucchini, spinach, peas, parsley, and topped with freshly finely grated parmesan, it’s so healthy and delicious.
Spring Vegetarian Recipes
Lyndey Milan's roasted beetroot, fennel and goat's cheese salad recipe pairs well with Euro-style wines like Pinot Grigio. The fresh acidity and crisp flavours of the wine sit well alongside textural salads like this one.
Pinot Noir is the perfect varietal to highlight the cherry flavours and red wine vinegar in this pretty and textural radicchio salad.
Spring Chicken Recipes
Chardonnay is always a great choice with poultry dishes especially when fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit like grapefruit, fennel and micro herbs are involved.
Lyndey Milan's recipe for Greek-style barbeque chicken is delightful paired with Chardonnay.
Spring Seafood Recipes
Adam D'Sylva's recipe with fettuccini with prawn and spring fresh zucchini pairs well with a fuller-flavoured white wine like Chardonnay, Roussanne and Viognier, or try a light-bodied, silken red like Pinot Noir.
Salmon is the perfect fish to enjoy in spring with fresh potato, carrot, cabbage, lemon and green onions in this recipe. Pair it with a lightweight red wine such as Pinot Noir and Gamay.
Spring Beef Recipes
Pair Ed Halmagyi's flat iron steak with a Sangiovese for a perfect wine match. It’s dry and savoury yet has a beautiful core of sweet red fruit and savoury spice notes making it a great choice to pair with the radicchio, rosemary, grapefruit, olives, lemon and parsley in this recipe.
To pair with Hugh Allen's wagyu rump, choose a brightly-fruited red like Pinot Noir or Grenache with delicate yet complex flavours. Both pair naturally with the foundational elements of this dish.
Spring Lamb Recipes
Often under rated, Merlot pairs magnificently well with this quick and tasty dish by one of Australia’s culinary treasures, Stephanie Alexander. Filled with potato, eggplant, lemon, mint, coriander and parsley, this recipe is perfect to cook in spring.
Lyndey Milan's delicious Greek lamb with skordalia recipe is perfect with a glass of Malbec.
Spring Pork Recipes
Lyndey Milan's Vietnamese pork belly recipe is delicious with supple Grenache and Grenache-based reds which really suit the aromas and flavours of the mints, chilli and coriander in this recipe. Alternatively choose a fragrant white or juicy Rosé.
Stephanie Alexander's pork chops recipe is ideally paired with a Pinot Noir. Particularly with the incomparable flavour of the Seville oranges.
So, there you have it – the perfect spring recipes and wine pairings. Spring to it and start planning a season flavour-filled feasts today!