Green light These quick and easy dinners mirror the season

This is the exact moment every year when spring takes hold, and everyone lunges for green recipes that mirror the season. Green pizzas, pastas and salads abound; green sauces are unstoppable. I stock asparagus in my fridge and eat it with whatever I’m cooking (although really it’s best with runny eggs). So try these fast, ultra-green recipes. 1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 pound rigatoni

1 cups heavy cream

1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 large garlic cloves, finely grated 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

pound asparagus, thinly sliced at an angle

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil Flaky sea salt, for serving

the gim in half and, with very sharp kitchen shears or a chef’s knife, slice into thin strips. Set aside for serving.

combine 1 dasima square with 8 cups cold tap water. Bring the water to a boil and season with the kosher salt. Tumble in the pasta and cook for half the time the package tells you is al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta, then add it back to the pot. (Discard the dasima.)

the remaining dasima square, cream, red onion, garlic, black pepper and reserved pasta water to the pasta. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Stirring occasionally, cook the pasta until the onion-infused cream has thickened significantly, thinly coating the noodles, 4 to 5 minutes.

heat. Add vinegar and asparagus, and stir to combine for 1 minute. The residual heat from pasta will gently cook asparagus to tender-crisp. Stir in the sesame oil and season with more black pepper, if desired. Divide the pasta among serving dishes, discarding the dasima, and shower with the reserved gim and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Serve immediately, before the gim wilts and turns soggy.

Umami-rich seaweed stars twice in this creamy asparagus pasta.

teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 firm-ripe avocado, halved, pitted and diced

cup diced or crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)

cup chopped fresh herbs, such as dill, basil, mint or parsley, plus more for serving

the oven to 350 degrees. Place the diced bread on a sheet pan, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss, then bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until well toasted. Set aside to cool.

place the romaine pieces in a large mixing bowl, along with the chickpeas, cucumber, olives and scallions.

whisk together 6 tablespoons olive oil with the vinegar, capers, shallots, mustard,

teaspoon salt and teaspoon pepper and whisk well. Pour enough dressing over the salad to moisten; toss well. Add the avocado, feta and herbs and toss gently, adding more dressing to taste. Top with the croutons and a generous sprinkle of herbs and serve.

ina food processor or blender or using a mortar and pestle, combine the avocado, jalapeno, vinegar, lime zest and juice, remaining garlic clove, half the chopped parsley and cilantro, teaspoon salt and

teaspoon black pepper. Puree or pound into a coarse mixture. With the machine running or while mixing with a pestle in a mortar, slowly drizzle in the remaining

cup olive oil and 1 tablespoon room temperature water. Puree or stir until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt if necessary. The sauce can be made a few hours in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container.

the remaining cup each parsley and cilantro over the chicken and carrots. Transfer to individual plates along with any pan juices. Spoon a few tablespoons of the guasacaca sauce on the side for dipping. Serve warm with additional sauce on the side.

DAVID MALOSH/THE NEW YORK TIMES Makes: Total time: 1. Season 2. Add 3. Return 4. Making space 5. Drizzle Garlic chicken with guasacaca sauce, a popular Venezuelan condiment. 3 to 4 servings 25 minutes 2(1 ¼-inch-thick) bone-in pork chops (about 1 pound each) Kosher salt and black pepper 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 4 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced, plus more for serving 2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed cup chopped fresh mint or basil, plus more for serving Large pinch of red pepper flakes cup crumbled feta Lemon juice, for serving pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high until shimmering. the pork chops to skillet and sear, without moving, until dark golden, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Lower heat, cover pan and cook the pork chops for 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate. the skillet to the stove and reduce heat to medium. Add butter to remaining oil in skillet, then add scallions and cook until lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add snap peas, mint, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt, stirring everything to coat with pan juices. in the skillet, return pork chops to pan, surrounding them with snap peas. If necessary, you can mound snap peas on top of the pork, but make sure the meat sits directly on the bottom of pan. Scatter feta over pork and snap peas. Cover and cook over low heat until pork chops are just cooked through, 3 to 6 minutes longer. or squeeze lemon juice over the dish and sprinkle with more mint, scallions and black pepper before serving.

LINDA XIAO/THE NEW YORK TIMES Makes: Total time: 1. Heat 2. Roast 3. While the chicken cooks, 4 servings 45 minutes cup olive oil 3 large garlic cloves, peeled 1 pounds carrots, scrubbed, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths (½-inch wide) Kosher salt and black pepper 2 to 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, drumsticks, breasts or a combination, patted dry 1 avocado, pitted and chopped 1 jalapeno, stemmed and chopped 2 tablespoons rice vinegar Zest and juice of 1 lime 1 cup chopped parsley leaves with tender stems 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves with tender stems oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine cup oil and grate in 2 garlic cloves using a zester. Add the carrots and toss to coat. Lightly season with salt and black pepper and transfer to a sheet pan, reserving the garlic oil in the bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl and coat with the remaining garlic oil. Arrange in a single layer on the sheet pan skin-side up between the carrots. until carrots are tender and chicken is cooked through with crispy skin that’s browned in spots, 35 to 40 minutes.