It’s spring, spring, spring! Really and truly spring. Chicago had its soul-crushing, hibernation-inducing winter. Then it had March and April which count as spring elsewhere but not here. Now it is finally May and gray has turned to green. We have traded parkas for trips to the park. Citrus and root vegetables have given way to strawberries, asparagus and ramps.

So you may be wondering why I am posting a recipe for soup. It’s spring, Emily! Let’s have salad. Sure, we can have salad. We can grill some steaks and eat strawberry shortcake. I’m all for those things. But first, first, I want you to try this delicate, very spring-like chicken soup that features one of the special crops of the season, spring onions.

Spring onions look kind of like scallions on steroids. They have long green stalks like scallions, but large white bulbs at the end that look like a small onion without the papery skin. The Kitchn blog had a good breakdown on the difference between scallions and spring onions. Basically, what you need to know is that spring onions are a seasonal crop — get them now or you won’t get them at all. They are milder than a regular onion, but sharper than a scallion. And unlike scallions, which we often use raw, spring onions should be cooked.

When you cook these spring beauties, you will be amazed by their sweet flavor. Spring onions are not to be diced into a sauce or stew. No, let them be the star of their own dish during the short time they are available.

In her new book A Girl and Her Greens, which I highly recommend, April Bloomfield suggests halving spring onions lengthwise, after removing the stems and roots, and cooking them in butter in a skillet just until browned. Then transfer the skillet to a 350 degree oven and roast the onions until soft, about another thirty minutes. I made this dish for my in-laws this past weekend and everyone agreed that they were the highlight of the meal. Tender, sweet and bursting with allium goodness.

Another way to use spring onions is to cook them whole in liquid, almost like you would pearl onions. That was my approach to incorporating spring onions into the gingery, Asian-inspired chicken soup that I made for dinner last week. Again, you may insist that spring is not the time of year for soup, but I maintain that a light, broth-based soup is the perfect meal for a mild spring day. And we all know how changeable spring can be. Sure, it may be 75 at lunch, but by dinnertime, the temperature has dropped twenty degrees and soup starts to sound very appealing.

Another argument for this soup as the perfect spring dinner: if you are trying to get in shape for swimsuit season, then this recipe is for you. With white meat chicken and vegetables and not a hint of cream, my Asian-inspired chicken soup is low-fat, low-carb eating at its best. I did serve mine with a side of white rice, but you could easily skip the rice if you were so inclined and still feel very satisfied.

The Asian influence is felt in the garlic, shallot and ginger combination. I also garnished the soup with fresh lime juice. My husband said that this dish reminded him of his favorite thing to order at our local Vietnamese restaurant and I thought he was spot-on. The flavors and the lightness of this soup are very reminiscent of Vietnamese cuisine, one of my favorites.  If I did not have a cilantro-hater in my family (ahem, Zuzu, ahem), I would definitely garnish this soup with some lovely chopped cilantro which would make it even more Vietnamese.

I hope that you will be inspired to pick up some spring onions if you see them at the grocery store or farmers’ market in the next few weeks.