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Spring splendor all around

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Times Staff Writer

This is a great time of year to pretend you’re a raw-food disciple. Of course, your friends know you’ll make any excuse not to cook.

But with spring’s produce at its flavorful peak, it’s perfectly rational to consider anything beyond washing the fruits and vegetables as extraneous. You can practically make a whole finger-food buffet from what’s coming out of the fields and into farmers markets. With practice, you’ll even be able to consume an avocado without the use of utensils.

Luscious strawberries, crunchy sweet cherries and crisp sugar snap peas are guilt-free, bite-size and available for your immediate gratification. And that’s not all. Hearty greens and early-season stone fruits vie for attention too.

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At farmers markets from Culver City to Hollywood to Santa Monica, it’s tough to concentrate on the late-season citrus that, though still at its peak of flavor, seems so 30 minutes ago compared with the sparkling new apricots, nectarines and cherries.

Lemons, Valencia oranges, kumquats, blood oranges and tangerines are in great shape at many markets. Strawberries -- Gaviota, Camarosa and Chandler -- are so ripe and plentiful that they’re selling for as little as $4 for three pints, compared with the $7 some Chandlers brought a month ago. In Santa Monica, delicate organic Seascape strawberries from McGrath Family Farms are fetching $8 for three pints.

The lingering cool spring has kept the black “dinosaur” kale, red Russian kale and dandelion greens improbably crisp and hearty late into the season. Coleman Family Farms also had a good supply of $1.75-per-pound rapini and $1 per pound French sorrel at the Santa Monica market last week.

Though it’s $3.50 per pound, the savoy spinach crop from Weiser Farms stands up well to the heat of a saute pan. At the Santa Monica market, proprietor Alex Weiser suggested seasoning the spinach with his red Spanish garlic to add some kick. For something sweet and green, he offered a taste of his raw organic sugar snap peas and shelling peas (each $3.75 a pound) that were disappearing into sacks like so much Halloween candy.

Dandelion greens were so abundant at the latest Sunday morning Hollywood farmers market (Ivar Avenue south of Hollywood Boulevard), that some sellers had heaps for 75 cents a bunch. Grocers are charging at least $1.20 for wimpier stock. Pungent dandelion leaves add a nice tang to sauteed spinach or a salad of mild lettuces. And treating them as food gives you a great excuse not to weed the lawn.

That will, of course, free up time to loll about eating the season’s first apricots, peaches, nectarines and, at last, cherries. The lighter, firmer Tulare cherries and the darker, sweeter Brooks cherries from Erickson Farms of Fresno were selling briskly for $5 for a 1 3/4-pound container at Culver City’s Tuesday market at Washington and Venice boulevards. The more pie-friendly Rainier cherries won’t be at their peak for a while yet.

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Good early nectarines for $1.75 a pound are coming out of Balderama Farms in Orosi. Their thin-skinned and fast-ripening May Kist, May Glo and April Glo have been selling at the Sunday Hollywood market.

Apricots are already abundant this year. About 30 varieties are found in California. Some of the better early varieties are the Honey, the Poppy cot and the Earlycot, which are almost exclusive to Southern California. They’re $3.50 a pint from Pritchett Farms, of Visalia. Eat them fast -- apricots don’t like refrigeration. The Poppy cot and Earlycot make up only about 10% of the early season volume, said Tom Tjerandsen, manager of the fresh Apricot Council. Markets are already filling with the early-season Castlebrite, but the popular, extra juicy Blenheims won’t be in markets for a few more weeks.

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Wilted dandelion greens with goat cheese and pine nuts

Total time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: From Cyndy Ufkes of the Times Test Kitchen. Argan oil, which is from Morocco, is available at specialty food markets, or substitute a nut oil, such as walnut or hazelnut oil.

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups spring onions, thinly sliced into rounds

1 large clove garlic, minced

6 cups dandelion greens, tough stems removed

6 cups spinach leaves, roughly chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled

2 teaspoons argan oil

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toast until lightly browned and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes (keep on eye on them so they don’t burn). Remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the dandelion greens and spinach, cooking until slightly wilted. Add the salt, pepper and pine nuts and cook 1 minute.

3. To serve, place on a serving plate and lightly toss with half the goat cheese. Crumble the remaining goat cheese on top. Drizzle with the argan oil and serve warm.

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Each serving: 225 calories; 1,020 mg. sodium; 7 mg. cholesterol; 17 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 5 grams fiber.

*

Cherry and chocolate turnovers

Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Servings: 18 turnovers

Note: From Mary Ellen Rae in the Times Test Kitchen. You might have a little filling left over.

Nonstick cooking spray

6 ounces cherries (about 20)

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup ground blanched almonds

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon flour, plus more for rolling

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash

1/4 cup crystal sugar, for garnish

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Pit the cherries, then cut the cherries into quarters. Place the cherries, chocolate, almonds, cardamom, sugar and flour in a bowl and toss gently to combine.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, slightly roll out 1 pastry sheet to an 11-inch square. Cut into 9 equal squares with sharp knife. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of each square. Lightly brush the egg wash along the edges of each square, then fold in half to form a triangle and gently press to seal. Dip a fork into the egg wash and press the tines on the pastry edges to help seal. Repeat with the remaining squares and place on the baking sheets. Brush the tops of the turnovers with the egg wash and sprinkle with the crystal sugar. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes while making the second batch of pastries. It is important to freeze the pastries before baking so they’ll puff up when baking.

4. Bake until golden brown and puffed, 25 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Each turnover: 207 calories; 72 mg. sodium; 12 mg. cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 1 gram fiber.

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