What Food Is In Season In April?

By Clare

April Recipes Seasonal Seasonal recipes for April

With April we see winter vanquished (in theory at least…. the British climate is anything but predictable). We can emerge from our diet of stews and root vegetables and start eating food which is fresh and green. Spinach and sorrel take over from cauliflower and broccoli. I have never had success with sorrel – it is ALWAYS bitter for me, no matter what variety I grow or how I cook it. I console myself knowing that Dorothy Hartley (Food in England) found the same, but I know many other illustrious chefs rave about it.

In terms of celebrations we start with April Fools’ Day… and go on to Easter and St George’s Day, so April is a month of lamb, of eggs, of chocolate, of English food… and of fools. And the new potatoes in April really are new.

Shrimp, whitebait, lobster and crab are now appearing,

April is a time to think ahead. If you are a gardener then be prepared (see Belinda Stride’s helpful advice on her guest blog spot here). If you are not a great gardener (I am pretty awful) limit yourself to some herbs and, towards the end of April (after the threat of frost has dissolved) find a bit of soil or a pot somewhere in a sunny spot and plant some marigold seeds. After about ten days they will begin to sprout (which is encouraging). Six to eight weeks later they will start to flower. Water when you remember. What have you got to loose? At worst nothing will happen – you will have wasted 59p/half a euro/just under a dollar. At best you’ll have a bright peppery garnish to pep up your green salads. And even if you forget to use them you’ll enjoy their in-your-face blatantly indiscreet orangeness.