What's in Season

March

March is here and the green things are just starting to appear again in the greengrocers and veg boxes. Fruit is still a bit thin on the ground but the new veg at the end of the month are tender and sweet. I think the best ways to eat them are simply, cooking them as little as possible. When it's warm enough eat herby, peppery salads with simple baked fish, when it's still a bit nippy make chili hot stir frys to get the best out of these delicate first crops.

Whatever the weather make watercress soup, it can be eaten hot or cold as the weather dictates.

Veg

Beetroot - Broccoli (purple sprouting) - Cabbages (various green) - Carrots - Cauliflower - Endive - Greens (spring and winter) - Leeks - Mint - Parsley - Radishes - Sea kale - Sorrel - Spring Onions - Watercress

Fruit

Bananas - Blood oranges - Kiwi fruit - Lemons - Oranges - Passion fruit - Pineapple - Pomegranate - Rhubarb (forced)

Meat

Hare - Mallard - Partridge (mature) - Pheasant - Pidgeon - Rabbit

Fish & Seafood

Brill - Clams - Crab (brown & spider) - Cuttlefish - Hake - Halibut - John Dory - Lobster - Mackerel - Mullet (red) - Mussels - Oyster (rock) - Prawn (cold-water) - Salmon (atlantic) - Sardine - Seabream - Sole (dover and lemon) - Trout (brown) - Turbot

Also

Cow parsley - Nettles

Recipes

Salmon and Spring Onion Omlette - Banana and Walnut Loaf - Beef Stir Fry - Brocoli and Haddock Bake - Watercress Soup - Baked Seabream with crushed garlic potatoes