21 low spring recipes

Garlicky black pepper shrimp and black-eyed peas is Low Country Southern cooking in one skillet: bacon, holy trinity, bay-scented peas, and wine-splashed shrimp finished with cracked pepper.

Grilled steak and peppers vinaigrette stacks sirloin over butter-braised leeks and tops it with charred Cuban peppers in a Dijon-red wine dressing. A bistro-style three-layer plate.

Chicken tagine with pine nut couscous braises chicken thighs in a fragrant Moroccan spice blend with dried apricots and prunes, served over couscous scented with lemon zest and toasted pine nuts. A dinner-party-worthy North African main.

Vibrant asparagus and roasted red pepper soup, creamy with evaporated milk and ready in 30 minutes. A vegetarian, naturally low-fat bowl packed with spring flavor.

Fennel watercress salad tosses paper-thin fennel with peppery watercress and orange segments in a fresh orange-rice vinegar dressing. A bright low-calorie spring side, ready in 15 minutes.