It’s shrimp and avocado salad degrees outside

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Ashley Lonsdale’s shrimp and avocado salad with peanut dressing. Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

It’s beginning to look a lot like springtime

Just the other day, while taking the dog on his pre-dinner walk, I spotted a harbinger of spring: two people enjoying happy hour outside.

It wasn’t at a restaurant patio, and it wasn’t a picnic situation (there’s still plenty of gross, stubborn snow on the ground). Instead, it was a couple who’d brushed off their outdoor table and chair set and were enjoying two beers and a bag of chips in the 5 p.m. sunshine. We nodded to one another in appreciation of this early evening vitamin D.

I know this false spring will pull the rug out from underneath me; there’s snow in the forecast where I live. But still, I’m going to take these short bursts of warmth and sunshine as an invitation to similarly thaw my cold-weather cooking. This new shrimp dinner from Ashley Lonsdale strikes the exact vibes I’m going for: light but filling, lots of green, no heavy pots needed.

I’m particularly intrigued by the peanut dressing, which starts with scallions, garlic, peanuts, sesame and fennel seeds sizzled in olive oil until toasted and fragrant. That crunchy, flavorful mix is then combined with honey and apple cider vinegar to dress seared shrimp, ruffles of lettuce and half-moons of avocado. Ashley notes that any number of proteins — chicken, steak or salmon — could benefit from this dressing, and I’ll take her up on that suggestion. This salad is going to be the template that sees me through to spring.

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Shrimp and Avocado Salad With Peanut Dressing

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Speaking of spices

Roasted chicken thighs with cauliflower and herby yogurt: Coriander, smoked paprika and Aleppo pepper (or crushed red pepper) give this Yossy Arefi sheet-pan dinner its savory earthiness and subtle kick. Several readers added some halved small potatoes to roast with the chicken and cauliflower — so smart.

Berbere fish with roasted broccoli and potatoes: Once you have berbere — a warming spice mix that includes cinnamon, fenugreek, coriander and chile — you can use it to make chicken, meatballs and this simple fish dinner from Ifrah F. Ahmed. If you’d like to make your own berbere, we have instructions included as part of this shiro (ground-chickpea stew) recipe from Ghennet Tesfamicael that was adapted by Samin Nosrat.

Tomato-poached egg pasta: I recently lightly splurged on some really nice imported crushed red pepper at an Italian grocery store, and I’ve been so dazzled by the intense flavor they’ve added to my dishes. This new weeknight dinner from Christian Reynoso will really let them shine, with briny capers, sweet shallot and that rich egg yolk providing the perfect base for their bright spiciness. (It goes without saying, of course, that you could also pull back or skip the chile flakes entirely if you’re not as spicy-smitten as I am.)

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Roasted Chicken Thighs With Cauliflower and Herby Yogurt

By Yossy Arefi

6,375

1 hour

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Pasta With Tomato-Poached Eggs

By Christian Reynoso

12

30 minutes

Makes 2 servings

And before you go

Yes, cabbage is a winter crop, but real cabbage-heads know that this inexpensive and versatile vegetable cannot be confined to just one season. So consider this collection of excellent cabbage recipes a year-round cooking companion, pulling out, say, cabbage Parm for a mid-March dinner, and lemon-tahini slaw for the first cookout of summer.

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