Seasonal Eating – March and April

Mar 22, 2014

With spring upon us, make the most of the season’s fresh early offerings such as spring greens, watercress and Jersey Royals. As the days get longer, (and ever so slightly warmer) our tastes tend to change from rich and heavy comfort foods to lighter dishes featuring spring vegetables and even the odd salad or two. Why not make the most of the beautiful seafood available this time of year and create an Italian pasta dish with freshly caught local crab, chilli, rocket & lemon; or keep it simple with locally grown asparagus spears served with a softly poached egg.

 

Fruit & Veg

Spring onions, spring greens, chicory, rhubarb

Asparagus, broccoli, Jersey Royals, radishes, rocket, sorrel, spinach

 

Meat & Game: 

Wood pigeon, lamb

 

Seafood:

Lemon sole, dover sole, cockles, mussels, oysters

Crab, sea bass, sea trout, shrimps, prawns

 

From the wild:

Watercress, wild nettles

 

Nettles

The first signs of spring see the wild nettles poking up hopefully through last year’s dead foliage. At this young, tender stage they’re perfect for harvesting, but take care and wear gloves as even the most innocent looking young leaves can sting. Nettles are extremely versatile and can be used to make a variety of tasty dishes such as soups, pies, pesto, risotto and even smoothies.