COUNTDOWN TO SPRING

Be inspired by the bounty of exciting produce March has to offer with recipes from Esther Clark, plus tips on growing your own from Emma Crawforth of BBC Gardeners’ World

- Esther Clark

March sits snugly between winter and spring and is usually a sign of milder weather with all the new and exciting produce that brings. Green, rich vegetables are at their best this time of year, including spinach, purple sprouting broccoli and crunchy spring onions.

With a mild onion flavour and crunch, spring onions are equally delicious raw and cooked. The white part of the onion has the strongest punch, but never be tempted to discard the green part – the flavour is more subtle, but still worth using. Clean spring onions well before cooking with them, though, as they have a habit of harbouring dirt and grit inside their hollow stems. I like to griddle whole spring onions and pile them onto toast with lemon zest, ricotta and herbs. They’re also delicious served on a bed of Spanish romesco sauce. In my pie recipe on page 100, they’re part of the topping – pairing so well with the creamy poached chicken and pancetta filling.

Purple sprouting broccoli isan iconic vegetable with its purple tops and dark, long leaves, and richer in flavour than the standard variety. It’s far more robust, too. It can be simply griddled, drizzled in olive oil and topped with sea salt and a squeeze of lemon juice, but I’ve cooked mine into a soup that’s rounded off with salty blue cheese (p102). If you’re not a fan of the pungent cheese, you can simply omit or use lemon zest instead.