With Mother’s Day just around the corner and vibrant spring vegetables coming into season, it’s time to embrace all the foodie treats the new season has to offer
Roast dinners make brilliant winter comfort food, but as the days get longer and the temperature thaws, it’s time to give the British classic a lighter spring makeover. Try roasting our topside of beef (now a third off in store) with a few sprigs of fresh thyme – like all our beef, it’s traceable back to the farm and animal it came from – then serving blush-pink, in thin slices. Alongside, toss parboiled Maris Piper potatoes (find our great-value family packs in store) in hot oil with some fresh rosemary, whole garlic cloves and oregano, then roast until burnished gold and scatter with flaky sea salt. Early spring vegetables, such as our British leeks and asparagus, are delicious alongside – try charring in a griddle pan for extra depth of flavour. Add scattered jars of fresh flowers to the table for an added springtime touch.
Our British leeks are in season now, so make these pale green-hued veggies the star of your spring cooking. They’re delicious used as the base of creamy risottos finished with fresh peas, or baked with oozy cheese sauce and potatoes, as in our recipe below. Fancy something a bit different? Scandi chefs have made charring leeks popular in recent years, with some even serving leek ‘ash’ – take inspiration from their technique and roast them in thick slices until golden brown and starting to blacken on the edges, then serve with a feta-flecked grain salad.
Make the most of the best British leeks and serve this creamy parsnip and leek gratin alongside your spring roast, or as a hearty meat-free main meal in its own right.
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