April feast days are rather patriotic ones, what with Shakespeare's birthday and St George's Day both falling on 23 April. And spring usually brings the first sighting of family and friends from abroad. So what seasonal treats should you serve them this month?
Just as I do when I'm travelling, my friends and family from overseas always want to eat food from here rather than there. So I put aside the chillies and coconut, soy sauce and lemon grass and look to see what homegrown produce my local shops have in store.
If you want recognisably English food, meat is not a problem. A slowly braised dish of organic pork or shoulder of lamb, or a beef casserole with dumplings would be just the thing. Or, for something lighter and more elegant, racks of home-produced lamb, one between two, roasted with a herb and mustard crust are a real treat for foreign visitors.
As for fish, cod, lemon sole, Dover sole and haddock are all fabulous at this time of year. And smoked fish is always a good choice as it is so uniquely British. You might serve a smoked fish salad; perhaps some lightly poached smoked haddock with baby spinach or salad leaves and a poached quail egg; or a kedgeree or smoked salmon terrine.
I also recommend my very simple version of potted fish using trout, salmon and mackerel. I'm sure, in fact, that pounded fish – or even fish paste – describes the dish better, since potted fish used to be packed as whole fillets sealed under a layer of butter.
Trout and mackerel are hot smoked, which cooks the fish and makes it opaque. Sliced smoked salmon is cold smoked, giving it that lovely translucent appearance. However, you can also find hot-smoked (or 'kippered') salmon, which is my preference when making potted fish.
Just desserts
Desserts with a British flavour this month might be new season's rhubarb (for a sorbet or a crumble) or the faithful Bramley (for a baked apple dessert, to which clotted cream is the perfect accompaniment). Or, if you're bored with these, try a deliciously creamy English dessert.
Before that, serve some crisp celery and oatcakes with a selection of English farmhouse cheeses, some familiar such as Stilton and Cheddar, and some newer ones, such as the hard goats' milk and ewes' milk cheeses.
Of course, you'll be as tempted as I am by all the Mediterranean and southern hemisphere fruits now on the shelves: the peaches, apricots, plums and strawberries – delicious fruit salads at the drop of a hat. Personally, when I'm still eating winter warmers for my main course, I prefer tropical fruit, such as peeled and roasted pineapple, liberally doused in rum and Demerara sugar for dessert, perhaps with a scoop of coconut ice-cream.
Next page: Mushroom magic
Mushroom magic
Don't forget to look out for the post-holiday glut of mushrooms. This is the time to make mushroom soups, sauces and risottos. I also love mushrooms on toast and mushroom sandwiches on fresh bread, especially white bread, or mixed grain bread stuffed full of pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
Just wipe and chop the mushrooms. Peel and finely chop one shallot per 250g mushrooms and cook in butter until soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook on a high heat until they release all their liquid, which evaporates in the heat. Remove from the heat, and when cool, beat in a little more softened butter, pack in ramekins and refrigerate until required. If keeping them for more than two or three days, freeze them or cover with clarified butter.
This mixture, known as duxelles, makes a wonderful filling for fillets of Dover sole, which you then fold over, place in a buttered oven-proof dish and bake in the oven with a little white wine, seasoning, and some finely chopped tarragon or chervil.
April menu
Trio of Potted Smoked Fish with Cucumber, Dill and Horseradish Relish
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We might have already seen the start of British Summer Time, but the weather is still cool enough for warming casseroles, and the dumplings are a rare treat. They are so easy to make that you will want to keep them in your repertoire, large ones for casseroles and small ones for dishes such as oxtail soup and, in season, game soups and casseroles. The main course recipe I have developed for April's menu is based on the traditional Exeter beef stew.
As far as planning the meal is concerned, the potted fish can be made a few days in advance. You can make the beef casserole the day before required, and reheat it with the dumplings 40 minutes before you want to serve it. The tea cream can be made a few hours in advance, or indeed, the day before, which makes this a menu for very easy entertaining.
Next page: What to drink
Tom's wine recommendations:
A crisp young Chablis is perfect with this flavoursome first course; in fact we like Chablis with many smoked fish recipes. If you like something a little riper and richer, then go for an Australian Semillon or Semillon/Chardonnay blend. Or, for something very different, try an English white wine with the smoked fish, and save some for the cheese.
Sharpham Estate Reserve, made from the Madeleine Angevine grape, and having spent a little time in oak, has sufficient character to support the flavour and texture of both fish and cheese, especially an English goat's cheese such as Ticklemore, or the blue goat's cheese, Harborne Blue, from the same Devon cheesemaker, Robin Congdon.
We recently had beef with a splendid Cotes du Rhone - a 1995 Cairanne, which is from one of the villages in the Rhone valley. Peppery, fragrant and full bodied, this is an ideal match for a beef casserole, or indeed, a roasted rib of beef with gravy, Yorkshires and all the trimmings. South Africa's Pinotage is also a good bet with beef, made from a grape that shares the characteristics of its parents, the Pinot Noir and the Syrah, from Burgundy and the Rhone respectively.
Creamy desserts can flatten even the liveliest of wines, so with the subtly flavoured tea cream I recommend Late Harvest Riesling and Gewurztraminer from Austarlia or New Zealand, a Muscat de Lunel from Languedoc, or a Moscatel de Valencia from Spain.