IN SEASON: what to do with wild garlic?

As the first signs of spring finally break through, seasonal cooks can look forward to a whole basketful of fresh ingredients. From asparagus to crab, broad beans to gooseberries, nature’s larder really springs into life this month.

Wild garlic is a particular treat, often found growing in woodland near clumps of bluebells or along the roadside, its distinctive long leaves are easily identified by the pungent aroma they give off. Most greengrocers can source it for those who prefer to buy rather than forage their food, although you may need to ask as wild garlic has yet to reach the attention of the mainstream supermarket shelves.

As an ingredient it is the leaves, rather than bulbs, that are most sought after. These are at their best in early spring before their flowers start to bloom and have a delicate garlic flavour that requires very little cooking. They can replace basil to make an amazing pesto, be chopped and added to ricotta and mint as a super-quick pasta sauce, form part of a fresh seasonal salad or be used to make a luxurious wild garlic and cream soup. If you need any more convincing, wild garlic leaves are also a health “superfood” with research showing them extremely effective in reducing high blood pressure and preventing strokes. But, however you use them, be quick - the season can be as short as eight weeks and will be over by the end of May.

Try my recipe for lemon sole with wild garlic sauce.​

This blog was first published in the Ashburton Cookery School online newsletter.

Chocolate sponge with a fancy name - what's the excitement about brownies?

Every week for the last six months, I've combined ​my fruit & veg run with a sneaky chocolate brownie.  

I have never had a particularly sweet tooth, and always thought they were overrated - just chocolate sponge cakes with a fancy name. That was until I found these chocolate brownies. Handmade in my local bakery, ridiculously gooey and stupidly moist. Finally, I've seen the light.

Following intensive research, I am now glad to confirm that it is physically impossible to eat more than one great brownie without crossing the line from inane grin to gut-wrenching-stomach-ache.

However, as I can't get my local baker to share his magic, I have decided to develop my own recipe to take him on. So, after a bit of research, and a few practice runs, ​here is my gooey double chocolate brownie recipe.

Toffee vodka: a tribute to EJ's wine bar

For those of a certain age, who spent their teenage years in South Devon, EJ's was the weekly stop-off point on the way to drunken oblivion (and a few messy relationship decisions).  Although I'm sure we ordered quite a variety of drinks over the years,  every single visit was accompanied by a customary tray of toffee vodka shots.

Having most of a small bottle of vodka left over from my recent beetroot cured salmon efforts, it only felt appropriate to ​pay tribute to the EJ's nectar of my youth.  To be honest I was surprised at just how easy this was, with the only ingredients being vodka, some toffee, a pinch of sea salt... and a dishwasher...

If you want something to get a ​big-night-out off to a flying start, why not try my toffee and sea salt vodka.

Lemonade thief on the loose!

There are times when simple ​is good and finding a few lemons at the back of the fridge - at the same time as the sun finally decided to come out to play - meant just one thing,  time for lemonade!  I knocked up a quick jug (click here for the recipe) and left it in the fridge to chill, only to find on my return that the Lemonade fairies had drunk it all!  After questioning the rest of the household I am no closer to finding the culprit, but there is a reward for any information leading to an arrest...

Home cured salmon - inspired by Akvavit and 6-ft blondes

Since my attempts to get in shape by eating more soup, I have discovered that countries with a penchant for raw fish tend to have the lowest incidence of global obesity.

Studying in Denmark in the 1990’s I remember the joys of rollmops and cured fish being a revelation compared to the student diet of beans on toast I was used to.  In fact, elements of the Scandinavian diet have stuck with me ever since, along with some of the other great passions that make up my life today, including lego, akvavit and 6-ft blondes. Add in the ridiculous price of central London sushi, which has been winding me up for a while, and the fact that Nordic cuisine has taken over as the next-best-thing in gastronomy, and there are plenty of reasons to be curing your own fish. As well as looking amazing, it’s also easy – very easy - although I'd suggest keeping that to yourself as home-curing is one of those techniques guaranteed to raise a congratulatory gasp from unexpectant dinner guests.

To get started, why not try my beetroot and vodka cured salmon: