Tart, tender and crinkly

Peaking

Calamansi: Combine the lovely perfume of a tangerine and the startlingly sweet-and-sour flavor of a kumquat and you've got the calamansi, also called a calamondrin. A citrus fruit native to the Philippines and Southeast Asia, it's about the size of a small lime with a peel in shades from light green to pale orange. In the U.S., the small trees are grown mainly as ornamentals, but that's a shame. Try using the calamansi as you would a lime. It also makes an especially good marmalade. Or do what Filipino mamas do and squeeze the extremely sour juice for someone who's suffering from a cold.

$3 per pound, Coleman Family Farm

Fava beans: Here's a Richard Olney recipe for a once-a-year feast: Buy 5 pounds of fava beans. Take them out of their husks, and if you can see the gray skin covering the beans, blanch and peel them. Brown some cubed bacon in butter, then add some shallots and cook until they've softened. Add the beans and just enough water to moisten, slap on the lid and cook until the beans are bright green and tender. It'll take only about 15 minutes. Beat together one-half cup cream and 3 egg yolks, and pour this over the favas. Cook just until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Finish with a little lemon and some chopped parsley. This will serve four people. Peeling that many favas will take so long that for the rest of the spring you'll want to use them only as a garnish. But the flavor will be worth it.

$3 per pound, various vendors

Bloomsdale spinach: You think you know spinach? Try this variety, which is an old open-pollinated type developed in the 19th century by the legendary seedsman David Landreth (he propagated many of the seeds brought back by Lewis and Clark). Bloomsdale spinach is sweeter and meatier than most common varieties, and it also lacks the tannins that make your teeth feel so furry. Farmers like it because it resists heat better than others, so it's around longer. The leaves are more crinkly than most other spinach, so be sure to wash it well. Then cook it slowly in a little butter and minced shallot, with just the little bit of water that clings to the leaves.

$3 to $5.50 per pound, various vendors

russ.parsons@latimes.com