There’s nothing better for your appetite, your health and your enthusiasm for cooking than fresh, seasonal ingredients. The following five ingredients are at their freshest in March and April. Make the most of them by trying out a new recipe for each one.
Cockles
Traditionally sold by the pint on the seaside, cockles are in their prime during April, and can be bought in jars, preserved in brine or vinegar or sold loose from deli counters and fishmongers. They can be used in seafood pie, tossed in a salad or soups and stirred into a paella or pasta sauce.
Recipe ideas
Seafood, Garlic and Lemon Grass Casserole
Roast Fillet of Cod with Cockles
Spring lamb and rosemary
Make the most of lamb at its most tender with a lamb dinner over Easter. Lamb is available all year round but spring lamb has that melt in the mouth appeal. It also works perfectly with another seasonal ingredient – fresh rosemary.
Recipes ideas
Roast Lamb with Mint and Pistachio Pesto
Tomato Crusted Lamb with Baby Vegetables
Buttery Roast Lamb with Rosemary and Roasted New Potatoes
Strawberries
Consumer demand has put strawberries on our supermarket shelves all year round. But the first seasonal fresh strawberries appear in April. Look for firm, unblemished fruit and where possible go for smaller juicer varieties than plumper strawberries which might contain more water. Picking your own is a great way to make the most of the season. Find your nearest farm here.
Recipe ideas
Foil Baked Strawberries with Pimm’s and Clotted Cream
Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries
Duck
Even though duck is farmed and available all year round, it's only at Easter and Christmas that large, fresh birds are readily available. Roast duck is traditionally served with orange or plum sauce, but it also works well with cherries, which are also in season at around the same time.
Recipe ideas
Roast Duck with Thyme and Orange Roasted Pumpkin
Farmhouse Duck Glazed with Honey and Citrus
Crispy Duck with Pineapple
Asparagus
Asparagus is available from different parts of the world, but British asparagus is worth the wait. Unfortunately the season is short: about six weeks from mid-April to mid-June. Look out for it at your supermarket or local farmer’s market.
Recipe ideas
Warm Asparagus, Almond and Pancetta Salad
English Asparagus and Parsley Frittata
Basmati Rice Omelettes with Steamed Asparagus
Also in season in April and May: morel mushrooms, cauliflower, new potatoes, sea bass, raspberries, cherries, spinach, sea trout, wild garlic, radishes, mint, broad beans, parsley, sardines, lemon sole, new carrots, rhubarb, carrots, kale and watercress.
All recipes are taken from Waitrose. Find out more about Britain’s best farmers’ markets and shops. Why not grow your own fruit and vegetables? Here’s how.
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