Chef Forough Vakili opened Le Bon Nosh in late 2021 in Atlanta’s Buckhead Village. The name of the cafe and market roughly translates to “the good bite.”
Vakili grew up in Iran and came to the U.S to study chemical engineering at Georgia Tech. Later, she decided to go to culinary school in France to fulfill her cooking dreams.
“I always had a burning interest in food,” she said, describing Le Bon Nosh as “a neighborhood kitchen” — adding that the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus are focused around “local, simple and seasonal ingredients.”
With that in mind, we asked Vakili to come up with recipes for spring-inspired dishes. She answered with a seasonal starter, main dish and dessert, aimed at serving a party of four.
“In my mind, spring is about a fresh start and rebirth,” Vakili said. “Today, when we’re talking, it’s the first day of spring, and we’re kind of struggling with how many ingredients we can get locally. But very soon, in April, comes all the bounties of spring, with peas and arugula and morels.”
Surprisingly, perhaps, Vakili revealed that the thing she’s most excited about every spring is ramps, which look like scallions, but are smaller, slightly more delicate, and often difficult to find, unless you’re a forager.
“Interestingly enough, there are foragers that know restaurants want them, and they’ll bring them to us,” she said. “And I know farmers that have friends who come to their farms to forage for ramps. But you can find green onions or green garlic in farmers markets. Those colors speak to spring, too.”
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Asparagus is another green vegetable on Vakili’s mind right now. “I grew up, like many American families, having asparagus with every steak dinner,” she said. “But when I was introduced to asparagus in season, that’s when I went, ‘Wow. What a difference.’ It’s a short season, but I only eat asparagus in April and the first part of May now.”
Lamb is a spring thing for Vakili, too. “Baby lamb is spring to me, because it’s something I grew up with,” she said. “You can find local lamb in Georgia, and it changes your perception so much. The gaminess that people associate with lamb isn’t there like it is with the lamb we get from Australia or New Zealand.”
At Le Bon Nosh, local rack of lamb is cooked on the grill to medium and served with a pea and morel ragu sauteed with shallots, onions and butter. Plus it’s plated with a refreshing pea sauce made with pea milk from the grocery store, and frozen or fresh peas with mint.
“We like to sear the lamb on the grill, and you could do it on your grill outdoors for a party,” Vakili said. “We’re doing them in two racks, so that’s four chops per rack. And it’s something that can be assembled right before serving.”
For a spring dessert, Vakili said she “loves, loves strawberries,” and she likes to make strawberry tarts. “It’s such a classic,” she said. “One of my biggest draws to that was during my time in Paris. You find all these beautiful strawberry tarts in pastry cases.”
For those intimidated by baking, Vakili has a shortcut: “Do not make the tart shell, buy it. For example, Trader Joe’s has this amazing tart shell that you can buy and just put in a ring and bake. That saves you a big part of the preparation. Making a pastry cream may seem daunting, but it’s very easy. Just make sure you stir it, cover it, and cool it.”
Thinking about this three-course meal, Vakili is looking forward to the delights of spring weather and the opportunity to cook and eat outdoors.
“I think spring has a sense of excitement in the air,” she said. “You see people start to come outside more. To me, it’s a season of rediscovering. For the restaurant, this is our first spring. So I’ve been looking forward to doing this collaboration with the team to come up with dishes that are true to how we cook simply and source locally.”
RECIPES
These favorite spring recipes from Le Bon Nosh chef and owner Forough Vakili include a starter of Grilled Green Asparagus with Ramps Sauce, a main course of Georgia-Grown Grilled Lamb Rack with Pea and Morel Ragu, and a Strawberry Tart for dessert. Vakili likes to cook the asparagus and lamb outdoors on the grill in honor of the return of warm weather.
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Grilled Green Asparagus with Ramps Sauce
For this bright spring starter, barely blanched asparagus is grilled and served with ramp sauce.
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Georgia-Grown Grilled Lamb Rack with Pea and Morel Ragu
Grilled Georgia-grown rack of lamb is cooked on the grill to medium and served with a pea and morel ragu and a refreshing pea sauce.
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Strawberry Tart
It’s not that difficult! It does take time to make the sablee dough, form a tart shell and bake. But you can take a shortcut and buy a pre-made tart shell.
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