We’re not sure we’ve ever felt as much sheer seasonal relief as on our first sighting of forced rhubarb stalks over the last week - the perfect pastel pink summons the sense of spring to our mind like little else, and tells us that – finally! – winter has come to a close. We’re looking forward to pigging out on all things rhubarb, blood orange and early wild garlic and white asparagus in the weeks to come, but here are the spring dishes already on our eat list...
Granola with rhubarb-lime compote, Honey Truffle
The drabness of an Irish winter giving way to the bright brilliant pink of rhubarb is one of the best bits of the year – we feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t love it. Honey Truffle have brought out the colour even more with a splash of lime (you don’t see that every day), and spooned the lot over their house granola. No better way to start the day, or the season.
Blood orange, fennel and radicchio salad, Baa Baa
Blood orange is another seasonal beauty that’s becoming increasingly common about town - once only the preserve of fancier restaurants, it’s made its way to more cafés and grocers the last few years. Baa Baa’s salad treatment shines a smart spotlight, played off creamy burrata and bitter radicchio to bring out its sweet and juicy best.
White asparagus and sea bream, Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen
We’re still scratching our head wondering what it will take for Michelin to dole out a third star to Chapter One - we’ve been to enough in our time to know Mickael Viljanen and co are operating at the top of the game. This white asparagus wonder is a case in point, partly for the perfectly-cooked stalk itself, but all the more so for the foam served alongside that had us almost erupting in tears of joy.
Rhubarb black sesame bun, Elliot‘s
Elliot’s are at it again with this deceptively simple-seeming seasonal specimen - you can bet plenty of time-intensive testing went into perfecting it. They’ve opted for black sesame to bring out the best of rhubarb, with a toasted seed sugar and crémeux balancing out the tart tang in a crème within, and poached batons atop.
Blood orange donuts, Flower ‘n’ Bean
It’s just as well Flower ‘n’ Bean are serving these doughnuts on Fridays only, or we’d be in every day of the week. For the day that’s in it they’re doing a duo of blood orange and rhubarb pancakes today too, plus a first sighting of wild garlic in their weekly soup and sandwich special – it’s a seasonal feast.
Gnocchi with wild garlic, Coppinger
Wild garlic has wound its way over to Coppinger too, and just look at the colour they’ve teased out from the first shoots. Confit and BBQ King oyster mushrooms, and teasingly charred pan-fried gnocchi join the bright green puree on the plate, all lifted with lemon ricotta dollops and a pop of pickled shallot. Wipe your mouth there...
Rhubarb waffles, Urbanity
We can always rely on Urbanity to lean in hard to seasonal specials, and this weekend waffle dish is no exception. Ginger is a classic bedfellow of rhubarb for good reason - here they’ve doubled up with a ginger custard (genius) and a spiced ginger and oat crumble both working to balance the stewed stalks across the plate.
Blood orange and pistachio croissant buns, Bread Naturally
“Homemade blood orange and vanilla marmalade” is a sequence of words guaranteed to stop us in our tracks. We’d welcome the chance to buy that by the jar, but until then, getting it within Bread Naturally’s croissant buns will have to do. They’ve topped it with a pistachio mascarpone cream and pistachio crumb, plus a candied slice of blood orange to really show it all off.
Scallop and blood orange, Mamo
We’re as much, if not more, excited to see savoury treatments of seasonal fruits as sweet, and Mamo always accommodate with a seafood slant out in Howth. The sweetness and slight sharpness of blood orange accentuates and elevates the subtle flavours of scallop, not to mention just how very pretty it looks in the shell.
Rhubarb, tarragon and pistachio buns, Fable
If it ain’t broke… This spring Fable have gone back to the well and put last year’s rhubarb recipe bun right back on the menu. Considering we tried and failed five times to get one before they’d sold out, that’s no bad thing in our book. The gorgeous golden hue of the buns plays off the perfect pink of the rhubarb for a very seductive snack.
Salmon with blood orange, The Seafood Cafe
More smart seafood treatment of everyone’s favourite spring citrus from the folks at The Seafood Café – they really do what they say on the tin here. Cured organic salmon is another clever foil to play off the sweetness of the blood orange, while the kick of elderflower vinegar ties it all together – we can almost taste the freshness from here.
Blood orange pancakes, Two Pups
We usually wouldn’t allow something so short-term on a rundown meant to last the season, but we can’t not spare a moment for Two Pups’ pancake plate of the day. You rarely get to see blood orange heaped on a stack; we don’t think we’ve ever seen it paired with miso caramel and a homemade honeycomb. It’s just as well they say they’ve made a big batch. See more pancakes we want to eat in Dublin today here.
