What’s in Season: An Italian April Kitchen
We made it through another winter and into April and Spring we go.
Longer and lighter days call for lighter eating too, with meals become something you can easily assemble rather than cook for hours.
This is my favourite kind of cooking—simple, seasonal, and rooted in what’s available right now.
In Italy, cooking always begins at the market. You don’t start with a recipe—you start with what looks good, what smells right, what’s in season. If you have access to a local market do embrace this philosophy and try something new this month.
🌱 What’s in Season in April
This is the month of fresh, green, and tender produce. Think:
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Courgettes
Wild garlic
Fresh herbs (mint, basil, parsley)
Spring onions
Lemons (always lemons)
These ingredients don’t need much. A little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, maybe some good cheese—and they shine on their own.
🌿 A Morning of Foraging
Today, I picked wild garlic.
There’s something grounding about foraging—slowing down, noticing what’s around you, brushing your hands through the leaves and catching that unmistakable, gentle garlic scent.
Wild garlic only has a short season, I always try to seek it out and pick just a little bunch or too. In Italy, this kind of connection to ingredients is just part of everyday life—whether you’re foraging, growing, or buying from someone who has.
If you find it, here’s some ideas on how to use it.
Blitzed into a soft, vibrant pesto
Folded through warm pasta
Stirred into eggs for a spring frittata
Things I’ll be making this month. Nothing complicate or time consuming, just food that’s light full of seasonal flavours
✨ Pea, Mint & Burrata Crostini
Sweet peas, crushed gently with fresh mint, piled onto grilled sourdough and finished with torn burrata and lemon zest.
It’s the kind of thing you throw together after a market shop, eaten standing in the kitchen or outside in the first bit of sun—with a glass of something cold, aperitivo style.
🍋 Lemon Ricotta & Courgette Pasta
This is my version of comfort food for spring.
Courgettes softened until silky, ricotta folded through with lemon juice and zest, and just enough pasta water to bring everything together into a light, creamy sauce.
No heaviness—just softness, freshness, and that bright lift of lemon.
🌱 Asparagus, Potato & Parmesan Frittata
A proper, rustic dish that feels at home on any table.
Tender asparagus, thin slices of potato, and plenty of parmesan, baked until golden. It’s the kind of thing you can make ahead and leave on the table for everyone to help themselves.
Perfect for slow lunches, picnics, or those evenings that turn into something unplanned.
Cooking seasonally isn’t about rules or perfection.
It’s about paying attention. Choosing ingredients that are at their best. Letting things be simple.
In April, that means:
Cooking a little less
Assembling a little more
Eating outside whenever you can
And always, always finishing with good olive oil
This is the heart of Italian cooking—and the feeling I try to bring into everything I do with Knolita Cooks.
From my table to yours with love.
Related blogs:
Why we should eat the Mediterranean way
5 Tips for the perfect Valentine’s or Galentine’s night dinner