Our seasonal hero this May is the humble broad bean. For the gardener, autumn sown broad beans should be just ready by the end of the month but Spanish and French will have been around for months. As with peas, you have to be pretty hard core to turn your nose up at frozen but freshly picked and podded, they’re in a league of their own. If you’re lucky enough to get a May harvest, you certainly won’t have to worry about double podding them.
For this simple Rowley recipe, a good quality olive oil and tuna, such as the Ortiz Bonito del Norte (white tuna) are essential. Serve al fresco and with a pale rose.
Curiously Dundee Cake, from the birthplace of marmalade as we know it, doesn't contain any. Legend has it that local grocer James Keiller, after being so successful with his purchase of shipwrecked Seville oranges, needed another product to justify building his new marmalade factory - so he invented the Dundee Cake. Original recipes call for mixed peel, but no marmalade. Over the years, many (including the Hairy Bikers) have made the logical addition. We've been experimenting and adding a tablespoon of marmalade to the batter (as well as the glaze) brings an almost Christmas Cake richness to what is otherwise a light fruit cake.
Bright, refreshing, and bursting with citrusy goodness, this fennel and orange salad is a simple yet elegant dish that celebrates seasonal produce. The crisp fennel pairs beautifully with the sweetness of oranges, while the lemon and marmalade dressing adds a zesty twist. Perfect as a light starter or a vibrant side, this salad is a quick and delicious way to elevate your meal.
If, like me, you've been suffering over the not so festive period, not only does cooking become a bit of a chore but, even worse, it's hard to summon up much enthusiasm for the fruits of your labour. Unless those fruits include a 'Totnes hug' of a chicken soup. It might have been slightly hijacked by Ashkenazi Jews as 'Jewish penicillin' but I think it's true to say that every culture has its own, much cherished, version. This one started in Persia - so, as with so much Middle Eastern food, probably by the historic Sephardic population.