MARCHING on

This month Rosie Birkett shares her recipes to take you from winter to spring

- Rosie Birkett

March is what I call a ‘season-straddler’ month – sitting between the chill of winter and the promising green of spring. My recipes this month reflect that flux.

Fruity, garlicky romesco, smoky with paprika and rich with roasted nuts is an ideal way to welcome charred spring onions. It’s blood orange season, so at the moment I’m using them in lots of my food – salads, dairy-based desserts, and here in my update of sole meunière. Their sharp, fruity depth matches well with delicate white fish, and if you’ve never tried crispy capers, you’re in for a treat. Mussels are fabulous right now too, and while prepping them takes some time, they only take minutes to cook – the ultimate fast food. What could be better than dipping garlic toasts into the cooking juices?

Sole meunière with blood orange & crispy capers

If I see sole meunière on a menu, I order it. Few things please me more than delicate white fish swimming in butter and citrus. In this version, I add crisp fried capers and caramelised blood orange, which deepens the fruit’s gorgeous juice.

SERVES 2 PREP 5 mins COOK 10 mins EASY

• 2 tbsp rapeseed or groundnut oil