Bounty of the land, bursting with flavour
AND so we come to the final chapter in our Scotland’s Spring Kitchen series. All week I’ve shared delicious recipes such as rose veal osso bucco, black garlic chicken kiev and double trout fish cakes.
Last but by no means least, it’s time to focus on fruits and vegetables.
When winter arrives, I’m usually glad that I have no outdoor space which requires tending. The thought of dank murk and hibernating life brings me little joy as I look out my tenement window.
But when the first buds of spring appear, I long to get out and have access to the seasonal ingredients which begin to poke through the ground. Wild garlic and asparagus seem to take an age after their appearance in the south of England before they show their faces north of the Border. But as soon as they do, the growing season never seems to end.
Elderflowers and nettles are in abundance for those minded to forage, with the joyous yellow of gorse seemingly omnipresent.
Wild garlic is one of those wonderful ingredients you often smell before seeing. It’s usually April before it makes an appearance near me, and then it finds its way into almost everything I make.
My favourite use for it is in pesto and I even eat it with a spoon from the jar.
You can make this using whatever combination of cheeses and nuts you like, but I’ve finally settled on walnuts and Bonnet, a delicious hard goat’s cheese from Ayrshire.
Wild garlic also perfectly protects witch sole, a most underrated fish which is perfect in spring.
As spring becomes summer, soft berries begin to appear, whether cultivated or wild. We get strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, blaeberries, then with the return of late summer the brambles signal the darkening days ahead.
There is no need to dress seasonal berries in anything other than a thin splash of double cream.
HOWEVER, if your palate needs a little more complexity of flavour, then spiced yoghurt, or a honey and whisky-based panna cotta, will provide the perfect backdrop to the sweet, tart acidity of the fruits of the season.
When it comes to veg, Ayrshire potatoes are an annual treat which cannot be overstated. As the season progresses you can indulge in courgettes and their wonderful flowers, baby carrots, peas and broad beans, with onions and beetroot to follow.
It may seem strange to use such fresh ingredients to make soup when temperatures are rising, but the dishes here are far from thick winter broths. They are light and delicate in flavour, served a bit cooler, and without cereal additions, meaning these soups perfectly reflect the season.
Spring vegetables, or even what is left of the winter larder, shredded with seasonal asparagus and syboes (spring onions) and a fragrant stock can be warming or refreshing depending on the time of day.
A glut of tomatoes and the fresh acidity of sorrel is mouth-watering in its simplicity. But it’s the culmination of new season lamb, and a basket of summer vegetables, that is the highlight – the perfect reflection of a hard-earned summer harvest.
RECIPES OVERLEAF