A series of articles on Seasonal Foods by Monica Askay                                                                                                                                                                                  

Sprouting Brocolli and Chicken Salad

Purple sprouting broccoli is in season in March. After the seemingly never-ending wintry weather it is good to look forward to Spring and some lighter meals. This salad is a refreshing change from endless root vegetable dishes. It is substantial enough for a satisfying main course served with crusty bread. It is also a good way to use up both leftover steamed broccoli spears and roast chicken.

Broccoli spears or purple sprouting broccoli, steamed until the stems are just tender, cooled and cut into chunks approx 3 ¾cm / 1 ½ inches long

Cooked chicken, cut into smallish chunks

Red pepper, deseeded, cut into strips and the strips halved

Pine kernels

(Note: I would estimate the equivalent of I chicken breast, 100g / 4oz or so of broccoli spears, ¼ red pepper and 1 tablespoon pine kernels per person for a main course.)

Olive oil

White wine vinegar

Wholegrain mustard

Garlic, peeled and crushed

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

First make the dressing. Combine the garlic, salt, pepper, mustard, oil and vinegar in a screw-top jar. I deliberately have not given exact quantities. You will need approx 1 tablespoon oil to 1 teaspoon of vinegar but it will depend on personal taste. It is best to start with adding a small amount and adding more if necessary. I would recommend that you make a jarful. Any you don’t use will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Toast the pine kernels. Have ready a plate. Heat a frying pan till hot. Tip in the pine kernels and keep moving them around the pan with a spatula. Do be careful, as when they start to brown, they will do so very quickly. As soon as they start to brown, tip them quickly on to the waiting plate. As long as they are in the pan they will continue to brown. Spread them out on the plate and leave them to cool. This method of toasting can be used for all types of nuts and seeds, and brings out their flavour.  

In a bowl, combine the broccoli, chicken and red pepper. Add a little dressing (start with a couple of tablespoons and add more as necessary). Mix carefully. Chill until you are ready to eat (I would not recommend making this more than a couple of hours in advance). Just before serving, sprinkle on the toasted pine kernels.

Monica Askay - February 2010

 April - Avocado and Prawn Salad

March - Leeks

                               
St David’s Day falls on March 1st. St David is the patron saint of Wales. The leek and the inedible daffodil have both become the emblems of Wales. The leek, along with onions and garlic, is a member of the lily family.

Here is a recipe for a starter using baby leeks or leek thinnings.

Baby Leeks Vinaigrette (Serves 6)

18 baby leeks (3 per person ------ or more if leeks are very small)
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
Salt
Freshly milled black pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 tbsps olive oil
2 tsps white wine vinegar, or to taste

Trim and clean the leeks carefully. Steam them briefly until tender, taking care not to overcook them.
Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in a screw-top jar to make the dressing. When the leeks are just tender, place them in a dish in a single layer and pour the dressing over them while they are still hot. Turn the leeks gently in the dressing. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Serve either from the dish or arranged on individual plates with the dressing drizzled over them. Serve with granary rolls.

Monica Askay

January - Red Cabbage Salad                                         

After the dietary excesses of the last few weeks this recipe is a refreshing change. A variation on coleslaw, it makes a good meal served with cold meat (it goes particularly well with cod ham) and a baked potato. The vinaigrette dressing is much lighter than the usual mayonnaise-based dressing. Once made it will keep in the fridge for a few days.

Red cabbage, shredded finely

Celery, chopped

Crisp dessert apples such as Cox with colourful peel, unpeeled but cored and chopped

Walnuts , chopped or whole hazelnuts (optional)

Dressing:

Garlic, crushed

Wholegrain mustard

Walnut, hazelnut or grape seed oil

Cider vinegar

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Mix the dressing ingredients (I usually use around a teaspoon of vinegar to 1 or 2 tablespoons oil ------ if you prefer to use less oil add a little sugar to taste).

Chop the unpeeled apples and toss in the dressing in a small bowl.

Shred the cabbage and place in a large bowl with the celery (and nuts, if using). Add the apple and dressing and mix. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.  

Monica Askay                                                                                                    

December: An Alternative Christmas Pudding!

If you find the traditional Christmas Pudding a bit on the heavy side after the traditional Christmas roast why not try this for a change?

Ginger Syllabub

(Serves 4-6)

1 lemon, thinly pared strips of rind and juice
2 oz / 50g caster sugar
¼ pint / 150 ml ginger wine
1 small piece fresh root ginger, peeled  
½ pint / 300 ml double cream
2 pieces preserved ginger, chopped finely (optional)

You will need to start this the day before you want to eat it. Put the lemon rind and juice in a bowl with the sugar, ginger wine and peeled root ginger, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge to allow the flavours to blend.
The next day, sieve the liquid into a large mixing bowl. Add the cream and whisk until it holds its shape. Be careful not to overwhip it, particularly if adding the preserved ginger. Fold in the chopped preserved ginger carefully if using. Spoon carefully into a decorative glass serving dish and refrigerate.  
Serve with a spicy dried fruit compote.

Spicy Dried Fruit Compote

(Serves 4)

1 lb / 450g assorted no-soak dried fruit of your choice eg figs, apricots, prunes, cranberries                      
2 oz sugar
1 orange, zest and juice
Spice of your choice eg cinnamon stick,2 or 3 cloves, whole star anise, peeled root ginger
1 pint / 600 ml water
¼ pint / 5 fl oz dark rum

Place the dried fruit in a bowl with orange zest and juice, spice/s and water. Leave the fruit to soak for 2 hours (don’t be tempted to leave it longer). Pour the fruit and soaking liquid into a saucepan and add the sugar. Simmer very gently for an hour. Make sure that the liquid doesn’t all evaporate. Remove the spices.
Pour fruit and liquid into a glass serving bowl and add the rum. Leave the fruit to cool in the liquid. Chill before serving.
Serve with cream, crème fraiche or ginger syllabub.
 

Monica Askay

November - Root vegetables

Root vegetables are our traditional staple diet for winter. As well as those traditionally grown in this country, others such as sweet potato are now easily available.

They make thick comforting winter soups and added to potato; vegetables such as parsnips, swede, and celeriac make interesting variations on mash and can de used as unusual toppings for shepherds’ pie etc.

Here is a versatile recipe using root vegetables:

Roasted Root Vegetables with Spices

A selection of root vegetables e.g. small potatoes (red-skinned will enhance the appearance of the dish), parsnips, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, turnips, sweet potato
Red onions or shallots, peeled
Whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
Coriander seeds and cumin seeds, crushed together in a pestle and mortar
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
To serve: sea salt

Preheat the oven to Gas 6 / 200 C.
Prepare the vegetables according to type ie wash and peel (leave the skin on the potatoes). Cut into even-sized chunks. Cut onion into chunks but leave shallots whole. Pat the vegetables dry to ensure they crisp up.
Put the root vegetables, onions or shallots and garlic cloves on a heavy baking sheet and sprinkle with the pepper, crushed spices and olive oil. Do not add salt at this stage or they will not crisp up. Mix thoroughly using your hands and then spread them out in a single layer.
Roast for approximately for 30-45 minutes ------ this will depend on the vegetables chosen and the size of the chunks ------ turning occasionally until brown and crisp.
Sprinkle with salt just before serving.
Serve with roast meats and green leafy vegetables. Alternatively serve as a vegetarian main course topped with Greek yoghurt and with a side salad.

Variations:
Try adding chunks of dessert apple (it needs to be a variety that holds its shape when cooked) or firm pear. The chunks will need to be larger than the root vegetables to allow for differences in cooking time.
Try using smoked paprika or a mixture of herbs e.g. rosemary, sage, thyme instead of the crushed coriander and cumin seeds.
Experiment with different oils such as lemon or chilli flavoured olive oil, or rape seed oil.        

                                                
Monica Askay

October - Apples

October once again and the height of the apple season. October 21st sees the annual Apple Day, launched in 1990 in the Old Apple Market, Covent Garden by Common Ground. Its aim is to celebrate the diversity of the apple (and other tree fruit) and to save our orchards, which since the 1950s have been disappearing at an alarming rate.

Apple Day is now celebrated throughout the British Isles (See Common Ground’s website www.commonground.org.uk for details of events.) It is marked by apple-related activities throughout September and October. These include orchard visits, apple identification, cookery demonstrations, longest apple peel competitions and tastings of unusual apple varieties / recipes containing apples chosen for their particular characteristics / apple juice / cider etc.

Apples, apple juice, cider, cider brandy / aperitifs, and cider vinegars are to me the distillation of Autumn. Their range of characteristics ensure their inclusion in a range of dishes both savoury and sweet. They go particularly well with pork, root vegetables, white and red cabbage, and feathered game. It is well worth experimenting with different apple varieties, both culinary and dessert.

Here is a seasonal recipe for you to try:

Pork Sausage Casserole with Apples and Cider (Serves 4)

500g / 1 lb well-flavoured good-quality pork sausages (e.g. pork and leek, pork and apple, herby). Poor-quality sausages will give you a very fatty and rather unpleasant casserole.

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 large cooking or equivalent quantity dessert apple/s, peeled, cored and roughly chopped. Your choice will depend on whether you want the apple to collapse and thicken the casserole, or hold its shape.

8 no-soak pitted prunes, halved

Leaves from 2 small sprigs of fresh sage

4 juniper berries, crushed

Knob of lard

1 heaped teaspoon flour

300 ml / ½ pint dry cider, good quality and preferably locally produced

Salt

Freshly-milled black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C / fan 160C / Gas 4.

Brown the sausages all over in a little lard in a large flame-proof casserole. Remove them to a plate using a slotted spoon.

Using a little more lard if necessary, fry the onion gently until transparent, then add the pieces of apple and fry briefly until beginning to colour.

Next sprinkle in the flour and quickly stir to mix, and then gradually stir in the cider.

Return the sausages to the casserole with the prunes, sage, juniper berries and seasoning. Bring to boiling point, cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 50 minutes to an hour.

Serve with champ (mashed potato with spring onions and parsley) or mashed potatoes mixed with a little wholegrain mustard, and red cabbage braised with apples and onions. 

August - English Plums

July - Lavender

                                     Cooking with Lavender

Although it is possible to buy dried culinary lavender (Norfolk Lavender at Heacham sell it), there is nothing better than plucking it fresh from the garden. The flavour of lavender is a revelation ----- not sweet and soapy as you might expect, but with a definite citrus note. It is therefore good in both sweet and savoury dishes.

Not all types of lavender are suitable for culinary use. Some have too strong and pungent a flavour very similar to eucalyptus. Lavendula angustifolia (also known as officinalis or spica) and its varieties Munstead, Hidcote etc is the most suitable. Use the flower heads only and use sparingly. Remember also not to eat lavender from plants that have been sprayed, or planted in a medium containing chemicals not suitable for human consumption.

Lavender and dry white wine make a lovely marinade for baked chicken breasts. Try lavender as a flavouring for sweet custard tarts, shortbread biscuits, or creamy syllabub. Add a little dried lavender to darjeeling for a subtly flavoured pot of tea. Look out for lavender sugar, vinegar and syrup ------ or make your own.

Here is a lavender recipe for you to try:

Nectarines Baked with Orange Muscat and Flora and Lavender

Nectarines ---- the yellow-fleshed have more flavour, although the white-fleshed look more dramatic

Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora, a delicious sweet dessert wine

Caster (or lavender) sugar, to taste

2or 3 lavender flower heads, or a teaspoon or so of dried lavender

Preheat the oven to 190C / 180C fan oven / Gas 5.

Choose nectarines that are not too ripe. Cut the nectarines in half and place, cut side up, in a single layer in an ovenproof dish just large enough for them. Leaving the stone in will improve the flavour. Place the lavender flower heads or sprinkle the dried lavender in the dish. Pour the wine into the dish to come halfway up the nectarines. Sprinkle a little caster or lavender sugar over the nectarines to taste, but remember that the wine is sweet. Bake until tender when pierced with a skewer, but not too soft ----- it is difficult to be precise about timing as this will depend on the ripeness and size of the fruit. The lavender turns the liquid a pretty shade of pink.

Note: This is a really versatile recipe as you can use any stone fruit with any type of wine and flavouring. A winter variation is plums with a spicy red wine i.e. a Shiraz, flavoured with a cinnamon stick.

June - Strawberries

                    
One of the joys of June is the advent of the strawberry season. Locally grown strawberries, preferably freshly picked, bear little if any resemblance to the watery and tasteless specimens available in the depths of Winter.

At the start of the season, I prefer to eat them on their own, perhaps with a little cream. As the season progresses, however, you might want to experiment with different ways of serving them. Strawberries are good sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper or drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar. Why not try them with orange zest and juice and a drop of orange flower water, or with a little rosewater?

Here is a refreshing Summer salad recipe which looks impressive and makes a good accompaniment to poached salmon and baby new potatoes.

Salad Elona

Cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

Strawberries, wiped with damp kitchen paper and thinly sliced

Freshly milled black pepper

2 or 3 teaspoons fruity dry white wine ---- a dry riesling works well ---- or strawberry vinegar (available from Little Common Farm Preserves at local Farmers’ Markets)

 
Arrange the thinly sliced cucumber and strawberries in alternate circles on a large flat plate. Drizzle with the wine or strawberry vinegar and season with freshly milled black pepper. Serve chilled.

May - Rhubarb 

Rhubarb Orange and Ginger Trifle (Serves 8)

You may have gathered that rhubarb is a favourite of mine. Forced rhubarb is in season December to April and maincrop outdoor rhubarb is in season from April till October, although it is at its best until July. It is for a large part of the year the only fresh fruit (although technically a vegetable!) in season. A mainstay of old-style school dinners, it was unfashionable for a time. It is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity.
Rhubarb goes particularly well with orange, ginger and vanilla.

8 trifle sponges
Approximately ½ jar of rhubarb and ginger jam (available from Little Common Farm at Ely or St Ives Farmers’ Market, or Wilkin and Son, available in Waitrose)
1 kg rhubarb
2 oranges
Approximately 100 g fresh root ginger
150 g sugar, or to taste (try golden caster sugar, or soft dark brown sugar)
2 cartons vanilla custard
¾ pint double cream

Start by preparing the rhubarb. Wash and trim the stalks and cut them into even-sized chunks. Place them in a single layer in an oven-proof dish with juice and zest of one of the oranges, peeled ginger cut into 3 or 4 pieces, and sprinkle over the sugar. Cover with foil. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 180C / 350F / Gas 4 for around 15 mins until tender when pierced with the point of a knife ------- you don’t want to overcook it as you want the chunks to hold their shape, and they will continue cooking as they cool in the liquid. Leave the rhubarb and its juices to get completely cold.
Break the trifle sponges into small pieces and spread them with the jam. Place them in the bottom of a glass serving dish. Remove the ginger from the cooked rhubarb. Spoon the pieces of rhubarb over the sponges with enough of their cooking juices to moisten the sponge, but not to make it too wet. Mix thoroughly but carefully. Top with the custard, shaking the dish carefully to remove any air bubbles. Whip, but do not overwhip, the cream and spread it carefully over the custard. Chill for a few hours. Just before serving garnish with some orange zest ------- you could also finely chop preserved ginger and sprinkle that over the top.
                                             
                                                          


 

April - Edible flowers and plants

First published in The Village Voice - April 2006

Before I go any further I must give you a warning here. Only some flowers are edible. Only use flowers that you know, and know to be edible. It is also important to use flowers from plants which have not been sprayed or treated with chemicals unsuitable for human consumption. I also make it a rule never to garnish food with flowers or leaves that are not edible. To find out more about edible and toxic flowers there are 3 books I recommend (unfortunately now out of print but worth looking out for). They are:

"Good Enough to Eat", subsequently published as "Cooking With Flowers" by Jekka McVicar

"The Edible Flower Garden" by Kathy Brown

"Cooking With Flowers" by Jenny Legatt

Whole flowers or individual petals can be crystallized and used to decorate puddings and cakes. Primroses and violets would look good on an Easter cake. Later in the year try pansies or roses. Crystallized violets and roses are available commercially (try Waitrose in Ely). To crystallize flowers they should be brushed with lightly beaten egg white (remember raw egg should not be eaten by the very young, the elderly, or those whose immune system is compromised) or gum arabic dissolved in rosewater, and sprinkled with caster sugar.

During the medieval period strewing salads with edible flowers was popular (see recipe below).
A hedgerow plant with a reputation as a Spring tonic and blood purifier traditionally eaten at this time of year is the nettle. To avoid its sting it should not be eaten raw. The older leaves become tough, bitter and somewhat toxic, so the young leaves only should be eaten. It should be cooked in much the same way as spinach. It is the leaf which is used to wrap Cornish Yarg cheese. Try it as a tea or make it into soup (see below). In the North West it is traditionally mixed with bistort to make Easter-ledge or Dock (NOT the leaf which is the antidote to nettle stings!) Pudding which is fried and served with bacon.   
 
Medieval-style Herb and Flower Salad

Ingredients will vary with season and availability.
A selection of young salad leaves and herbs :
Spinach, watercress, rocket, sorrel, Good King Henry, baby chard, little gem lettuce hearts, purslane, flat leaf parsley, chervil etc (some of the more unusual plants are available from Lettuce and Lovage at Ely Farmers' Market).
Sliced spring onions or shredded baby leeks.
Edible flowers of the season. (In Spring use primroses and violets, in Summer try nasturtiums, pot marigold (calendula) petals or florets of chive flowers).
 
This salad looks best arranged on a wide shallow dish. First cover the base of the dish with the larger salad leaves. Scatter prepared spring onions or leeks over the leaves. Next arrange the herbs and finally the flowers over the other ingredients. Serve with a separate jug of vinaigrette dressing. For a milder dressing try using verjuice (if you can get hold of it) instead of vinegar.
 
Nettle Soup
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
50 g butter
About 1/2 carrier bag of young nettle top / leaves
Approx 1 litre water
Salt
Pepper
Grated nutmeg
 
Remove the nettle leaves from the stalks. Discard the stalks ------- they are a good addition to a compost heap.
Wash the nettle leaves thoroughly (wear gloves to pick and wash them!). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onions and potato and stir to coat them in the butter. Add seasoning and cook gently --------- keep stirring to ensure they do not stick and burn. When the vegetables are beginning to soften, add the nettle leaves and stir to mix well. Like spinach, nettles cook down amazingly! Add the water, bring to the boil and then simmer until the potato is cooked. Take the soup off the heat and blend it until smooth. Check and adjust the seasoning. To serve, add a swirl of creme fraiche.   

 
March

Potatoes

For March I have chosen to write about potatoes, which have links both with Ireland and St Patrick's Day(March 17th), and Easter (Good Friday being the traditional day for planting potatoes).
There is some dispute as to how potatoes arrived in these islands. Was it Drake, Raleigh, trade with Flanders, or the Armada? Potatoes were developed from a group of plants grown in the Andes at high altitude in what is now Bolivia and Peru. There is evidence of their cultivation dating back 2000 years. Originally knobbly (looking rather like Jerusalem Artichokes) they grew in a range of colours. Some sources attribute their growth in Ireland to Sir Walter Raleigh and his estates in Youghal, Co Cork. There is evidence, however, that what he actually grew were sweet potatoes. Certainly in the C16th the Spaniards had brought them to Europe from the New World, initially thinking them a variety of truffle. They may have reached Britain in the early C17th via trade with Flanders or may have been part of food stores from the Armada wrecks on the west coast of Ireland. (They were grown in Galicia and were staple food for the Spanish Army, Navy and prisons). They were not a success initially and were not to become widely accepted, grown and eaten in England until the late C18th. Initially they were thought to be aphrodisiacs and were regarded with suspicion for a number of reasons-------------they (and the tomato) are related to Deadly Nightshade and were thought to be poisonous, they were thought to cause leprosy (eating them raw can cause eczema which was thought to be a type of leprosy) and they were not mentioned in the Bible and therefore were thought ungodly. Initially they only found (some) favour in Ireland-------Northern Irish and Scottish Protestants would not plant them, Catholic communities would plant them only if sprinkled with Holy Water and planted on Good Friday They were promoted as a source of flour in times of wheat shortage but eventually found more favour as a vegetable.They were initially much promoted as staple food for the poor and as animal feed and they are a source of Vitamin C.
Throughout Europe their names reflect their South American origins,or the similarity of their appearance to truffles or that they grow in the soil (eg "Pomme de Terre" or "Earth Apple"). In a reference collection in Scotland there are approximately 700 varieties. They divide into floury (good for mash, chips, baking) and waxy (good for salads and boiling) varieties. It is also currently possible to find blue, black and purple varieties for sale.
During World War 2 potatoes were very heavily promoted as part of the 'Dig for Victory' campaign, with the introduction of the cartoon character Potato Pete. Their use as a pastry ingredient was encouraged, either raw and grated or cooked and mashed. People were advised that families should fill up on potatoes before bread was put on the table. A number of traditional dishes were resurrected and suggested to the public through Ministry of Food leaflets and radio programmes such as "From the Kitchen Front". Some of the traditional potato recipes from Ireland,Scotland and Wales have interesting names eg boxty (Ireland), punchnep (Wales), clapshot(Scotland), colcannon (Ireland) and  Ireland). Both colcannon and champ were promoted during World War 2.
Colcannon is potato cooked and mashed with cabbage or kale and can be flavoured with onions or shallots and cream or butter. Traditionally it was linked to Hallowe'en and marriage divination. It is the ancestor of the English Bubble and Squeak. Champ is similar. It is mashed potato flavoured with chopped onions or spring onions, parsley or chives, or even nettle tops. It also has links with Hallowe'en.

Here is my version of of CHAMP:

Floury potatoes eg Maris Piper or King Edwards
Spring onions,chopped
Parsley,chopped coarsely
Milk
Butter
Salt
Pepper
 
Peel and cut potatoes into chunks. Boil in salted water until soft. Drain and return to pan. Shake pan briefly over low heat to evaporate off excess moisture. Mash potatoes till smooth. Add butter and milk gradually,continuing to mash until you have a soft lumpfree consistency. Add pepper to taste and then chopped spring onions and parsley and mix until evenly distributed. It is traditionally served in mounds on individual plates. Make a large depression in the centre and put in a knob of butter (margarine or spread will not do for this!) Eat from the outside of the plate first, dipping the champ into the pool of melted butter. Supreme comfort food for an occasional treat!
Champ (minus the pool of butter) also makes a good accompaniment to good sausages and hearty casseroles. It can also be used as an alternative topping to dishes such as Shepherds' Pie and Fish Pie. As a further link to Wales and St David's Day(March 1st) try a variation: cook leeks in butter and add to mashed potato. This also makes a good topping for Shepherds' Pie.
 
Monica Askay

February - RHUBARB
 
The Wakefield Festival of Rhubarb 2008, takes place in early March - Friday 7th and Saturday 8th.

It is held in the Yorkshire Rhubarb Triangle.
Essentially it is a celebration of forced rhubarb. This is in season from mid December until April when the maincrop outdoor rhubarb season begins. This then runs until October, although rhubarb is at its best until July. Stems become thick and tough and later in the season the oxalic acid content becomes higher. (Rhubarb leaves do in fact contain toxic levels of oxalic acid and so must not be eaten.). Botanically, as it is the stem that we eat, rhubarb is a vegetable although we class it as a fruit. In this country we eat it as a dessert and in jams and chutneys. However, in some parts of the world it is an ingredient in savoury dishes.

A plant growing wild in cool regions of Asia eg Siberia, Mongolia, the Himalayas, its original use was as a Chinese medicinal plant.The root was dried and powdered and was used as a purgative. It was brought to the West along with licorice and musk via the Silk Road. It was used medicinally in Europe from the Middle Ages. It became a garden plant in Britain during the C18th but was not highly regarded until the early C19th when it was discovered that forcing it turned it into a winter delicacy.This resulted in a rapid development of new forced and maincrop varieties and it became a Victorian favourite. Almost 100 varieties survive at the National Rhubarb Collection at Harlow Car in Harrogate.
Terracotta forcing pots are available but can be difficult to find and are expensive. A bucket can also be used. During WW2 some people actually grew rhubarb inside their Anderson shelters. Commercially, rhubarb is forced in low heated dark forcing sheds. Those near Wakefield can be visited and tours form part of the festival. The rhubarb can be heard creaking and groaning as the leaves unfurl! Forced rhubarb has bright pink stems and yellow curly leaves. It is very tender and therefore needs little cooking. It is sweeter and has a more subtle flavour than maincrop rhubarb.
Traditional flavourings for rhubarb are orange, ginger or fresh angelica. Maincrop rhubarb can cope with robust flavouring but take care with the more delicate flavour of forced rhubarb. Try cutting forced rhubarb into chunks and dipping them raw into caster sugar and then eating them. Instead of gooseberries, why not use rhubarb stewed with a little sugar and no liquid as a sauce to go with mackerel?

Why not try this recipe:

FORCED RHUBARB FOOL

1lb/500g forced rhubarb
3-6oz/75-150g caster sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
1/2 pint/300ml double cream

Wash and dry the rhubarb, remove all traces of leaf and discard. Chop the rhubarb into 1"/2.5 cm chunks and place in a non-reactive pan (stainless steel or enamel but NOT aluminium) with the orange zest. Cook gently until the rhubarb has collapsed. Add sugar to taste and leave to cool. The puree can be made in advance and chilled. When you are ready to assemble the fool, lightly whip the cream and fold the puree into the cream. Chill to allow the flavours to develop.
NOTE: If using maincrop rhubarb try placing a small piece of peeled ginger in the pan with the rhubarb and orange zest. Remove it before folding the puree into the cream.
        
Details of the Wakefield Festival of Rhubarb can be found at www.wakefield.org.uk or at Wakefield Tourist Information on 0845 601 8353