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Foods to put a spring in your step this April
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Fruit
Vegetables
Meat and fish
Other seasons and reasons
April is a great month on the food front, as new season produce starts to appear, the weather willing. Asparagus, new potatoes, herbs and salmon all herald the arrival of warmer, lighter days, with the promise of summer to come. Dee McQuillan is nobody's fool this month, as she looks at what's new and delicious.
Fruit
- The fruit bowl is looking a bit bare: there's plenty of outdoor rhubarb out there (see our Rhubarb Yoghurt Fool recipe), but that does look better in a crumble than a bowl.
- There are good Caribbean (Windward Isles) bananas, perfect for recipes like Caribbean Bananas Baked in Rum served with Rum Syllabub and some great pineapples (see How to prepare exotic fruit) – also plenty of citrus fruit, although April is not the peak of orange perfection. Make the most of them with Delia's Lemon and Lime Refrigerator Cake.
Recipes to try
Vegetables
- Our star salad leaf is watercress from the chalk streams of Hampshire or Wiltshire – use it to pep up spring salads or try Watercress and Caper Mash or American's Chef's Salad. And look out for our recipe for Watercress Soup.
- Asparagus should also be starting to appear. Delia has a crop of great recipes for this wonderful dish, plus tips (no pun intended!) on how to cook it. Take a look at How to Steam Asparagus.
- Expect too the earliest of the news, the proper kidney-shaped Jersey Royal new potatoes from mid-April. They are great in Potato Salad with Roquefort, Salade Niçoise, Chorizo Hash with Peppers and Paprika or more or less on their own in Buttered New Potatoes with Parsley, Mint and Chives.
- Getting better and better are: home-grown carrots, spinach and cauliflower.
- Still with a spring in their step: spring greens and spring onions.
- If the weather is mild, herbs grown outdoors in the south will be big enough to pick this month: certainly the mint and parsley.
- Good imports and interesting exotics include bargain-price Hass avocados, perfect for Avocado Salsa, Mexican Guacamole and Four Star Salad, crinkled morel mushrooms for wonderful dishes like Eggs en Cocotte with Morels and the root vegetable salsify.
Recipes to try
Meat and fish
- Prawns, crab and other shellfish are getting back on form – make the most of them with Rösti Crab Cakes. See How to shell prawns.
- Wild salmon and salmon trout (sea trout) are now in full season. We have loads of lovely salmon recipes on our site: a good one for spring is Roasted Salmon Fillets with a Crusted Pecorino and Pesto Topping.
- Whitebait and – one source says – Scottish halibut are good eating now.
- Early lamb is also widely available now. Enjoy it in some of Delia's luscious lamb recipes, along with some new potatoes and asparagus. Spring on a plate.
Recipes to try
Other seasons and reasons
- This is the start of the season for goats' cheeses (though we think they are even better in May). Add them to salads or make a Leek and Goats' Cheese Tart or Toasted Goats' Cheese with Blackened Sherry-vinegar Onions.
- We have some exciting Easter recipes on the site, including all the traditional favourites. And later in the month, look out for our round-up of traditional foods, to celebrate St George's Day.
- And of course we couldn't forget chocolate. There are masses of meltingly good new recipes to try.
- If the school holidays are dragging, get your kids cooking with our selection of child-friendly recipes. They will enjoy eating it all afterwards!
Recipes to try
