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April: What to eat now
Olive magazine food editor Janine Ratcliffe shops for the very best April has to offer in farmers' markets and supermarkets
Reproduced from April 07 issue of Olive magazine. This month's issue on sale now. Subscribe now and save 40%.
Recipes Janine Ratcliffe
Photographs Philip Webb
April brings a real flush of spring leaves with greens, cabbage and lettuce all in good supply. This is the time to buy fresh young cheeses as the milk they have been made from comes from herds grazing on the lush, spring grass. It's also a good month to eat seafood, with the start of the traditional season for brown shrimp and langoustine. Mushroom pickers will be eagerly hunting the first morels of the season.
Lettuce
April is a bumper month for lettuce. Go for whole heads of English butterhead, little gem or lamb's lettuce; they'll last a lot longer than the bagged varieties and just need a quick rinse to revive the leaves. Lettuce isn't just for salads either; cook butterhead briefly in stock with some softened onions then whizz to a smooth soup; quarter little gems and braise in butter with peas, stock, onions and cream for petit pois à la Francais; serve buttery lamb's lettuce tossed with a sharp mustard vinaigrette and parmesan shavings. Goes with cream, onions, parmesan, vinaigrette.
1 hour
Easy
Lamb's lettuce is one of the first lettuces to appear and will be in abundance this month. Its buttery leaves are a perfect foil for the earthy beetroot and sharp orange in this salad.
Beetroot 4, golf-ball sized
Olive oil
Cumin seeds ½ tsp
Lamb's lettuce 100g
Oranges 2, segmented
Red onion ½, sliced
Dressing
olive oil 3 tbsp
red wine vinegar 1 tbsp
orange juice 1 tbsp
wholegrain mustard 2 tsp
- Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Toss the beets in a little olive oil with the cumin and roast until tender, about 40-50 minutes. Cool, peel and cut into wedges. Arrange the lamb's lettuce, beets, orange segments and onion on a platter. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over. Serves 4
Goat's cheese, potato and rosemary pizza
40 minutes
Easy
April is the time when the first young fresh goat's cheeses begin to arrive at cheesemongers and farmers' markets. This is a hearty pizza, the double carb hit of dough and potato works really well.
Small waxy potatoes 300g, thinly sliced (skin on)
Olive oil
Garlic 1 clove, crushed
Rosemary needles from 2 sprigs, chopped
Pizza base mix 150g pack
Small goat's cheese 150g-200g log, sliced
Red onion ½, thinly sliced
- Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Boil the potato slices for 5-6 minutes until just tender, toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and the garlic and rosemary. Make up the pizza base according to pack instructions and roll out into a rectangle to fit a lightly oiled non-stick baking sheet. Cover with potato slices, leaving a small border. Scatter the goat's cheese and onion over and drizzle with a little more oil. Leave for 10 minutes for the dough to puff up a little then bake for about 10-15 minutes until the base is crisp and golden and cooked through. Serves 2
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