April
In among the bluebells, you’ll find one of nature’s best spring foods – wild garlic. The leaves add a wonderfully subtle, tangy flavour to sandwiches, salads, stir-fries and soups, says Tom Norrington-Davies.
It's back! From April-October this powerhouse of a vegetable should be piled high on our plates. Rejoice.
Peasant food? Pah! In our eyes they're worthy of a knighthood. Potatoes are brimming with goodness and are, quite possibly, the ultimate comfort food.
Days are longer (hooray), the sun is shining (we hope) – it's the month to revel in watercress, sample spinach, try turbot and make the most of oysters and purple sprouting broccoli.
Make the most of these special oranges while they're in season. Why? Because they're 'bloody' lovely.
Celebrate spinach
For many, spinach is the stuff of schoolday nightmares; a soggy reminder of all that's wrong with poorly cooked food. But this much-maligned vegetable is very popular at delicious., so spinach-spurners, we beseech you – make it your friend!
True, the slightly metallic taste can take some getting used to, but with spinach it's what you match it with that counts. Like watercress, spinach is perfect in salads; it quickly wilts to add colour and nutritional value to pasta dishes, pies and tarts; is a natural accompaniment fish – both white fish, like haddock, and oily fish such as salmon and kippers; and complements cheese.
A particularly successful marriage to eggs has led to the popular egg and spinach combination, known as 'florentine' (not to be confused with the biscuits of the same name). You'll find the term used to describe myriad dishes, and find the spinach-egg pairing on pizzas, pies, and fish dishes.
Spinach is a great source of vitamins A, C and folic acid and contains respectable levels of the minerals iron and calcium (though not the amount lauded about in the 19th century: a misplaced decimal point led to an iron-content figure that was ten times too high). Less well known, however, is the presence of oxalic acid, which inhibits these minerals from being absorbed
by the body.
Although its origins lie in Asia, spinach
has grown on British shores since the 14th century, and the Moors
are thought to have introduced it to Europe as early as the 12th
century. It's reasonably hardy, and available year-round, though the most tender spinach is best sourced in spring, especially unpackaged spinach from farmers' markets. Buy lots; its high water content makes it shrink to a quarter of its size when heated. Cut off any thick stems when preparing, as they're stringy and tough.
To cook, stir-frying and steaming are popular methods, and microwaving. Store it in the fridge, in a plastic bag, and fresh spinach will keep for up to four days.
Click here for our Top 10 spinach recipes