The March equinox has been and gone, a day where all of the world has an equal length of day and night (roughly!), and finally the days are beginning to get longer. Spring is officially here. It really is, I promise, although you would be hard pressed to tell by looking out of the window! But even when the weather inevitably fails us, we can ring in the changes in our cooking. The constant transformation throughout the year is something I have really come to appreciate since moving back to England from 10 years in the endless tropical heat of Singapore. The beginning of each new season is something I look forward to in the markets and in the kitchen. Seeing new ingredients, waiting for some in particular to arrive with anticipation, the excitement of new ideas, new recipes, change. I take particular pleasure in the development of spring from winter and by now, it's tiresome endless sea of muted brown tones, of root vegetables, stews and casseroles. I absolutely can not wait for the riot of colour and freshness that spring brings.
In honour of this new season here are 3 recipes each using a key spring ingredient that celebrates this time of year. Get excited people!
Passion Fruit
Nothing shouts 'sunshine' like the heady, tropical scent of these little beauties and you should find these fruits abundant in the UK at this time of year. A little tip when purchasing, these fruits are ready to eat when dark and dimpled (in the style of a golf ball, if you happen to be familiar with one) and feel heavy for their size. Only use once they have reached this stage or the tartness that is complimentary in a ripe fruit will be extremely sharp in an under ripe one.
Ceviche is a dish popular all over South America and is basically fish, cut in to bite size pieces and cured in an acidic juice so that it has a cooked texture and opaque appearance but retains the 'raw' taste. It is light and refreshing and perfect served with some corn chips or tostadas (crispy fried corn tortillas) to scoop it up. Ideally eaten whilst on a beach with a beer, but hey, we can dream!
Prawn & Passionfruit Ceviche
Serves 2
200g prawns(could use sea bass or scallops instead)- Make sure any fish you use for this dish is extremely fresh and good quality
1/2 red onion, finely sliced into half moons
3 limes, juiced
2 passionfruit, pulp of
1/2 a large red chilli, thinly sliced (use however much you want depending on your spice tolerance but a bit of a kick is essential to the dish)
1/2 avocado, small dice
1/2 mango, small dice
1 small bunch coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped, reserve a few whole leaves
Although the lime juice will 'cook' the fish it does not kill bacteria so, when using shellfish in particular, it is advisable to blanch your prawns in boiling salted water for 1 to 2 minutes, until pink, then refresh in ice water before using unless you are absolutely sure they have been caught that day. This is the method I followed here. Once the prawns have been blanched and refreshed remove the vein (a little black line running the length of it's body) by running a sharp knife down the back of the prawn and
gently scraping out. You can slice the prawns in half down the length at this point if you wish to produce a more elegant dish and make it stretch a little further. Then place them in a glass bowl adding the onion, lime juice, passionfruit pulp, chilli and a pinch of salt. Mix gently but throughly and leave to marinade in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Take out of the fridge and add the mango, avocado and coriander to the bowl, gently toss and pile up on a plate, scatter with a little more fresh coriander and serve chilled. A delicate looking dish with fresh, punchy flavours.
Other uses for passion fruit - Always wonderful on a pavlova to cut through the rich cream and sugary meringue, also try paired with chocolate ganache in a tart or in a lemon curd roulade.
Pomegranate
Pomegranates are a stunning looking fruit, a vibrant reddish pink colour with beautiful plump, crunchy seeds, they never fail to impress visually. They add a juicy pop of sweet yet tart flavour, livening up anything they are sprinkled over. Not only that but they are thought to have many health benefits as they are extremely high in antioxidants, so whats stopping you.
Always something I associate with the food of the Middle East and North Africa (their origins are in Iran), I have decided to show them off in this spicy, crunchy, colourful dish
inspired by the flavours of these regions.
Spiced Lamb wraps
Serves 2-4 as starter or light lunch
1 red onion (thinly sliced)
1 lemon/lime (juiced)
200g left over cooked and cooled lamb shoulder, shredded/torn into bite size pieces
1/2 tsp sumac (plus extra for serving)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder (use more or less depending on heat tolerance)
1 iceberg lettuce ( bottom third sliced off and leaves separated into 'cups')
1/2 pomegranate (seeds only *tip* - get these out by holding a pomegranate half over a bowl with one hand over cut side and bashing rounded side hard with back of a wooden spoon)
Small bunch parsley, leaves picked
Small bunch of mint, leaves picked
Pomegranate Jelly (available in middle eastern delis or online. You could also make your own or use cranberry or crab apple jelly as a substitute)
Begin by placing the red onion and lemon/lime juice in a non metallic bowl with a good pinch of salt and setting to one side for 30 minutes. When 20 minutes have passed you can begin with the rest. Heat a generous splash of olive oil in a frying pan and add your shredded lamb followed by your spices and a pinch of salt. Stir to make sure each piece of lamb is nicely covered in the spices and leave to fry and crisp up, tossing occasionally. Transfer your onion (which by now should be soft, yielding and a shocking pink colour) into a clean bowl and put all your other ingredients in separate bowls or on a platter for people to assemble the wraps themselves. Once the lamb is piping hot and crispy transfer
to a bowl and take to the table.
To eat, grab a lettuce leaf cup and generously smear with the pomegranate jelly. Place some of the hot, crispy lamb on top and sprinkle with a little more sumac, then some onions, herbs and a good sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. Wrap up and dig in. Fresh, zingy, spicy, delicious. Why not also try using pomegranate as a tart and crunchy topping on salads, particularly grain based ones such as cous cous, it also works wonderfully with creamy goats cheese or how about as a sorbet.
Rhubarb
I actually prefer the forced rhubarb that is available at this time of year, grown in dark houses deep in yorkshire, in a mysterious place known as "the rhubarb triangle", its colour is much more vivid than the naturally grown stuff. As a child I hated rhubarb, one of my mums regular desserts that filled me with dread, rhubarb crumble, was much too tart for my young, incredibly sweet tooth. It is a grown up, sophisticated flavour, and one that I have really come to enjoy as I've gotten older.
As I considered recipes for the fruit it occurred to me what better way to show it off than to make than a very grown up take on a childhood favourite, jelly and ice cream. The recipe below is inspired by a recipe of Nigella Lawson's, Rhubarb and Muscat Jelly.
Rhubarb and Orange Blossom Jelly
Serves 6
900g rhubarb (trimmed and cut into 4 inch pieces)
250g vanilla sugar
50g runny honey
1 orange, zest & juice (plus extra if necessary)
2 cups of water
8 Gelatine leaves
150ml muscat wine
2 tsp orange blossom water
Note: Needs a minimum of 6 hours to set or preferably overnight. You will need 6 individual 1 cup measure glasses/bowls - or whatever receptacle you fancy putting it in.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Put the rhubarb in an oven proof dish that will fit it roughly in one layer and sprinkle over the orange zest & juice, sugar, honey and water. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour or until rhubarb is tender when pierced with a knife but still holding it's shape, then leave to cool. Once cool, strain liquid carefully into a measuring jug, this should provide you with about 600ml of liquid. Put the rhubarb pieces to one side to use another time (I like mine on yogurt for breakfast or in a fool). Add the muscat and orange blossom water to your rhubarb liquid and at this point test and adjust with more muscat/orange blossom/sugar/orange juice to your taste. I added the juice of one more orange for added tartness. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for a few minutes until soft and squidgy. Meanwhile, heat 2 ladlefuls of the rhubarb liquid in a small pan and bring to the boil. Grab your gelatine leaves, squeeze out the excess water and add to saucepan containing the hot liquid. Whisk until dissolved, this only takes a matter of moments, and once dissolved pour the contents of the saucepan back into the measuring jug containing the rest of the rhubarb mixture and stir well to combine. Carefully pour into serving cups and place in the fridge overnight.
I served mine with a stem ginger ice cream that I made using a recipe by Jason Atherton which worked beautifully but vanilla would work as well.
What else is good… rhubarb and custard sweets were another childhood treat, why not try the combination as a rhubarb and custard tart, or what about pairing the sour fruit with a fatty meat or fish such as pork belly or mackerel.
Other seasonal spring goodies you might want to look out for include asparagus, jersey royals, radishes, spring onions, kiwi fruit, elderflowers, crab and mussels.
Hopefully this has inspired you to embrace the changing of the seasons and get cooking too.
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