Seasonal Suppers: April
Celebrating the arrival of Spring and all things wild garlic with three delicious BONUS recipes
Happy Easter! Is it Spring? It kind of feels as though it might be, but I don’t want to tempt fate. The last week has seen A LOT of rain, early April showers, but also hail like I’ve never seen before and little bursts of sunshine. That kind of sums up Spring in the UK doesnt it?? Today I am back with another edition of Seasonal Suppers, although I nearly always want to say to you “Season’s Eatings!” when I do this, so perhaps I should just change the name to that.
I know I’ve said it before but you really do make your life so much easier if you cook with what’s at its best - you barely have to do anything to it to make it taste incredible. April brings with it a multitude of delicious produce, so let’s take a look at what we can look forwards to.
April
asparagus,
broccoli,
jersey royal new potatoes,
lettuce & salad leaves,
purple sprouting broccoli,
radishes,
rocket,
samphire,
wild garlic
rhubarb
basil, chives, dill, sorrel
lamb,
cockles, crab, langoustine, lobster, plaice, prawns, salmon, sea trout, shrimp, whitebait
Whilst the weather is yet to make up its mind, it most certainly is Wild Garlic season, which is a short brief but very joyful season. (I think in the US Wild Garlic is referred to as “ramps”). If you know where to look it is abundant and very delicious and ripe for the picking during this brief window. You will smell it before you see it, that’s for certain. Milder than normal garlic, it’s delicate and a little sweet. If you’ve been reading Dinner Tonight for any length of time, then you will know that I love garlic - so it stands to reason I also love Wild Garlic and I think you will too.
One of my favourite things to do with it is to make these incredibly delicious Wild Garlic Gnocchi which are served with a Lemony Brown Butter. This is a killer combo. Homemade gnocchi are light and pillowy and you will be surprised by how easy they are to make. The addition of the wild garlic just makes them so flavourful but also very delicate tasting - make these for anyone you are wanting to impress and you are going to knock their socks off. I feel very strongly that there are very few things in life that cannot be improved by a brown butter sauce. Brown butter in general is just the most incredibly delicious creation and works amazingly with gnocchi. I love adding a little bit of lemon to lift the whole thing - seriously this is really so good.
Another favourite thing to do with Wild Garlic is to make homemade chicken Kievs in the form of these Wild Garlic Stuffed Chicken Kiev with Roasted Beetroot and Radish Salad with Watercress and French Dressing. I think Chicken Kievs are thought of by some as being a bit naff (read: unfashionable) and better left in the 70’s but I LOVE them. They are utterly delicious and honestly what’s not to love? Hot, golden crumbed chicken filled with a garlicky oozy butter… that sounds pretty close to heaven to me. And like most things, they really aren’t as tricky to make as you might think. If you can’t get your hands on wild garlic, of course you can just sub in normal garlic, perhaps add a little parsley for that gorgeous green hue and it will work just as well. I’ve served this with a very delicious combination of roasted beetroot and roasted radish which looks just as pretty as it tastes and would work as a great side for a whole host of different dishes.
And the final recipe in this weeks line up is a simple but perfect dish of Grilled Salmon with Crushed Jersey Royals Potatoes, Tarragon Salsa Verde and Soft Boiled Eggs. Tarragon salsa verde is SO good, you will be making this a lot and this makes such a lovely, easy weeknight supper. Crushed new potatoes are always on heavy rotation in our house, and are such a simple way to make a boiled potato just a bit more interesting. Jersey Royals are utterly delicious and it’s strange to think of something like a potato having such a distinct season but they do and really truly Jersey Royals are an elite potato. Sometimes I can find potato dishes a little heavy but this one actually feels light and Spring-like because of the salsa verde. It’s such a good combination with the boiled eggs and salmon. Really very good.
Just a note to say I thought this might be a better way of doing Seasonal Suppers - where you get one email but I’ve linked to each recipe in it’s own post where you will also find the individual PDF’s for each recipe. I think this works better but let me know if you have other thoughts!
I will also attach the downloadable PDF’s of each recipe here (see below) for you in case that’s also helpful.
Enjoy! And see you next week for another edition of Dinner Tonight xx