in-Season May
Samphire
Samphire is a sea vegetable that grows abundantly on shorelines, marshy shallows and on salty mudflats. It has a crisp texture, salty flavour and tastes of the sea. Traditionally, it's a vegetable that is served with fish and good fishmongers sell samphire at this time of year. It can be served fresh in salads or laced with melted butter as a vegetable. Wash thoroughly under running water and don't add salt to the cooking water - it's already salty enough.
Duck
Traditionally, ducks in Britain were bred in Aylesbury, but now most duck production takes place in Lincolnshire. Even though duck is farmed and available all year round, it's at Easter and Christmas that larger, fresh birds are available. It's true that duck has a hefty layer of fat but don't let that put you off. The fat ensures that the meat underneath is tender and flavoursome and most of it melts away during cooking, leaving a crisp brown skin. Whole roast duck is delicious served with a fruity sauce; traditionally these are based on orange or plum, but try a sauce made with blueberries or cherries instead. Duck breast portions make an elegant dinner party main course, seared skin-side down and served with seasonal stir-fried vegetables. Try duck confit made with the leg portions, where the fat melts away leaving succulent flesh that falls off the bone. If the calories don't worry you, then don't discard the melted fat. Store it in a jar in the fridge and use it to make the most delicious roast or sautéed potatoes.
Sea trout
Sea trout, or salmon trout, is a fish that combines the best features of the trout's delicate and tender texture and the salmon's fine flavour and pink flesh. Sea trout are so called because they swim to the sea to feed and fatten up before returning to the fresh water of the river to spawn. The result is a delicious fish that can be poached in wine with herbs, baked in foil, baked covered in yoghurt and cream, or pan-fried in butter with capers and served with new potatoes.
Asparagus
The true British asparagus season is very short, lasting for about six weeks from late-April to mid-June. Asparagus is available from different parts of the world all year round but British asparagus is well worth waiting for for its unbeatable flavour and freshness. Although asparagus was once only grown in certain areas of the UK, such as the Vale of Evesham, East Anglia, Kent and London, it is now grown in most of the UK. Luckily, you can enjoy British asparagus for about £2 per small bundle at the height of the season.
Cherries
May sees the first cherries appearing from different parts of the world but unfortunately they are at their most expensive at this time. It's worth buying a few just to whet the appetite until we get into June and July, when domestic cherries become available and the price comes down. Nothing could be better than a bowl of sweet cherries, but sweet and sour varieties are excellent in pies, preserves, compotes or sauces to accompany duckling. There are traditional cherry recipes all over the world; sour cherries are made into a hot or cold soup in parts of Eastern Europe, Germany is famous for kirsch (a distilled cherry spirit) and, of course, Black Forest gateau, while the French make clafoutis, a hearty and delicious batter pudding made with sweet cherries.
Also in season
cauliflower
new potatoes
sea bass
raspberries
parsley
mint
broad beans
lemon sole
sardines
rhubarb
new carrots
