The Top 8 Recipes I Am Making This March

The thing I like best about March is that garlic mustard starts to come up where I live. It's an edible invasive weed and I start gathering it around the end of the month to use in salads and my annual giant batch of kimchi. It's a sign that spring is here.

Don't worry, there are no foraging recipes here. Beyond the foraging scene, for so many living in temperate climates, March is an in-between month. It starts with winter and ends with spring, and in the produce section, I start seeing asparagus, radishes, and rhubarb... which may not yet be growing in my actual garden.

March often (but not always) contains significant holidays from Ramadan and Easter to Passover. And there's Holi and Norwuz, too. Not to mention St. Patrick's Day. These are all in some way celebrating spring. So while you are waiting for your greens to come up, figuratively speaking, you can embark on some culinary adventures with me.

These are the 8 recipes I'll be making in March—I hope they give you reasons to go into the kitchen to celebrate something, even if they're just otherwise unexceptional weeknights.

1. Irish Beef Stew

If you're ready for a change from the traditional Irish American corned beef and cabbage come St. Patrick's Day, which falls on March 17 this year, try beef stew. It's one of the most popular stew recipes on our site. Irish stew would typically be made with mutton or lamb, but beef is a lot easier to come by here in the States. Its complex flavors come from likewise untraditional red wine and Worcestershire sauce.

2. Irish Soda Bread

This is a bread I love but often forget about, so a seasonal nudge as people get buzzy about St. Patrick's Day is a good thing. This Americanized version has raisins and is a perennial reader favorite.

There's another soda bread I love in our library: oatmeal soda bread. It goes well with nearly any soup or stew. Make both!

3. Pea Pesto

This easy pesto is SO good and surprisingly substantial. It feels fresh and springy, and all of its bright green comes from ordinary frozen peas. Spread this over toast instead of mashed avocado.

4. Sabzi Polo

Sabzi polo, “herbed rice” in Persian, is a traditional Iranian rice dish made with minced fresh herbs plus delicate rice and a crispy saffron tahdig crowing it all. Iranian communities celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year that happens around the spring equinox, make sabzi polo as an herb-rich dish to signify the rebirth associated with spring.

5. Rosemary Rack of Lamb

My family usually has ham at Easter, but lamb is so good, and often eaten at Easter, so why not switch it up? A rack of lamb is easy to cook, especially with our fail-safe recipe.

6. Deviled Eggs With Horseradish and Dill

Whether you're using up eggs you dyed for Easter or just into hard-cooked eggs, deviled eggs are a delight worth making. The sprig of dill on these is especially cheerful.

7. Guyanese Pholourie

Guyana, a South American country with a distinctly Caribbean culture, has a significant population with Indian heritage, and the festive holiday of Holi (March 25) brings colorful foods such as pholourie, fried split pea fritters so delicious you can't just have one. Unlike many fried foods, they're just as good at room temperature as they are hot and fresh.

8. Rhubarb Skillet Cake

It's just not early spring without an appearance of a rhubarb dessert. This almond-flavored cake is easy to make on a whim.