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.

Menu Lamb's lettuce, orange and roast beet salad Goat's cheese, potato and rosemary pizza Piri-piri guinea fowl Spring onion, Wensleydale and ham pastries Plaice with brown shrimp butter Shallot tarte Tatin

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.

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

Guinea fowl
Guinea fowl, in season now, has a similar flavour to chicken, although a little more gamey. Unfortunately, the guinea fowl has become a victim of intensive farming practices so look for free-range birds when buying (Waitrose sells free-range birds or look for Label Rouge guinea fowl in good butchers). Wrap guinea fowl breasts in pancetta and fry until crisp and golden; rub whole birds with harissa, roast, and serve with couscous; pot-roast jointed guinea fowl with stock, garlic, cannellini beans, and spring greens. Goes with pancetta, beans, garlic, greens, spices.

Piri-piri guinea fowl
1 hour + marinating
Easy

This fiery Portuguese marinade has many different incarnations, but the basic ingredients remain the same; chillies, garlic and the sharpness of lime juice or vinegar. Guinea fowl has a more gamey flavour than chicken so it stands up to marinating really well.

Guinea fowl 2, spatchcocked

Piri-piri marinade:
Red chillies 4, finely chopped
Limes 2, juiced
Garlic 3 cloves, crushed
Ground coriander 1 tsp
Ground cinnamon 1 tsp
Ground ginger 1 tsp
Parsley a small bunch, chopped

• Put the guinea fowl in a shallow dish, mix together the marinade ingredients and pour over. Leave for a couple of hours, or overnight if possible.
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put the birds on a roasting tray skin-side up and pour the marinade over. Cook for about 45 minutes (basting occasionally with the marinade) until crisp, golden and cooked through. Chop into quarters (leave on the bone) and serve with salad or sauteed potatoes. Serves 4

Spring onion, Wensleydale and ham pastries
40 minutes + chilling
Easy

This is a much lighter version of a cheese and onion pasty, using young spring onions and new season Wensleydale, which gives a fresh tangy flavour to the finished pastries.

Spring onions 4, shredded
Wensleydale cheese 100g, grated
Cooked ham 100g thick cut, chopped
Eggs 2, beaten
Ready-rolled shortcrust pastry 1 sheet, cut into 4 rectangles

• Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Mix together the onion, cheese, ham and ½ the egg. Season. Divide the mix between the pastry, putting it on one half of each rectangle. Fold each one over to make a parcel and crimp together the edges. Glaze well with egg then chill for 20 minutes. Glaze again then bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and cooked through. Serves 2

Plaice with brown shrimp butter
45 minutes
Easy

The brown shrimp has two seasons, from April to late June then from late August until November. They're a bit fiddly to peel but well worth the effort for their distinctive sweet flavour.

Skinless plaice fillets 4, about 175g each
Unsalted butter 75g
Shallots 2 small, peeled and finely chopped
Brown shrimps 250g, peeled
Flat-leaf parsley a small bunch, chopped
Lemon ½
Spinach 200g

• Put the plaice fillets on a plate inside a steamer and steam for 3-4 minutes until cooked. Meanwhile, wilt the spinach in a little butter and keep warm. Heat the rest of the butter in a pan, cook the shallots until softened then turn up the heat until the butter turns a golden brown colour. Take off the heat, add the shrimp, parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Season. Sit each plaice fillet on a mound of spinach and spoon the butter over. Serves 4

Shallot tarte Tatin
1 hour
A little effort

Small, early season shallots will be sweet and tender now so show them off in this version of a tarte Tatin. It's good to serve with a wedge of blue cheese or as a smart vegetarian dish.

Butter 50g
Shallots 500g, peeled
Balsamic vinegar 4 tbsp
Demerara sugar 3 tbsp
Thyme leaves from 3 sprigs
All-butter puff pastry 500g block

• Heat the butter in an ovenproof pan that the shallots will fit in an even layer. Add the shallots and cook over a medium heat until they start to brown. Add the balsamic and sugar and a cup of water. Keep cooking, adding more water if you need to until the shallots are completely cooked through and the balsamic and sugar has become sticky and caramelized around them. Mix in the thyme leaves. Season.
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Roll out the pastry to 20p coin thickness. Cut a circle a little larger than the pan then lay it over the shallots and tuck down the sides. Put in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is puffed, golden and crisp. Invert onto a plate and serve in wedges. Serves 4