Confused about the seasons? Here's a crunchy vibrant salad that straddles winter and spring
Is your brain still parked in winter or have you sprinted into spring?
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The daffodils in my garden sum up my feelings about the weather just now. Some have burst into blazing yellow trumpets, heralding the advance of spring. Others carry buds defiantly clenched shut, refusing to acknowledge the shift of season unless the downpours cease and a slither of sunshine comes their way.
I have to agree with the dissent in my flower bed. It’s impossible to know how to dress myself in the morning - will it be soggy, windy, sunny or all three? - and there’s confusion in my kitchen, too. What to cook when you’re sometimes still craving winter cosy but new spring produce is tipping you the wink?
My lovely friend Angela Clutton, whose exquisite new book, Seasonings, was released a couple of weeks back, spoke about a related matter on Instagram. She’d spotted lots of asparagus lovers buying, cooking and tucking into new season stalks - when, to her mind, it really isn’t time. “We are just not in asparagus season yet,” she said.
Her message was that we shouldn’t chase along the next season before its due. Be patient, she urged. “Enjoy all the fruits and vegetables of the season right through to the end.” It was an apt ticking off, because, guess what? I’d been planing to write this newsletter about … asparagus.
During the week I’d spotted a chef pal put asparagus on his new menu, and a beautiful looking dish it was, too. When I asked him whether it wasn't a bit early for such a joyfully springtime plateful - surely English asparagus wasn't ready yet? - he reminded me that our local grower had declared their season open. New Forest Fruit manages to cultivate asparagus without chemicals or artificial heating, using fungi and kelp to nudge the stalks up and out of the ground early than most other growers.
Theirs is utterly delicious asparagus and I understand why chefs clamber to cook with it as soon as they can. But I’ve taken Angela’s message on board. There’s plenty of time to write about those gorgeous green stalks, so this week I’m celebrating winter veg while I still can. My recipe flaunts some of my favourites - but I’ve gussied them up for spring in a way that straddles the waxing and waning seasons.
It’s a crunchy vibrant slaw-like salad that features dear old wrinkly celeriac - “the swollen base of a celery relative”. I mostly think of celeriac in mashed form, enriched with excessive quantities of butter, salt and pepper and, possibly, crowned with a trio of bronzed sausages. But, while the French do love their remoulade (as do I), celeriac’s crunch is widely overlooked and undervalued, which is a shame.
Served raw, its bright earthy notes also carry a hint of horseradishy heat, and work beautifully alongside sweet winter vegetables like the carrots and beetroots I’ve used in the slaw. (There’s apple in there too, so even celeriac naysayers love the flavours.) Splendidly freckled with nigella seeds for tasty onion-flavoured texture, and lightly coated in a light garlicky yoghurt dressing, it’s a perfect side dish no matter where your seasonal brain is parked.
Serve it alongside roast chicken or a joint of meat if you’re still in winter but starting to fancy lighter brighter Sunday lunches. Or, if you’ve sprinted into spring, it’s unbeatable paired with barbecued meat (inside a burger bun!) What’s more, this is a stunningly beautiful, a welcome salvo of colour on a murky day or a celebration of sunnier times ahead. It just depends on where your daffodils are at.
Matchstick salad with nigella seeds
Serves 4 as a generous side
2 carrots, about 60 g (2¼ oz) each, cut into fine matchsticks
160 g (5½ oz) raw beetroot, cut into fine matchsticks 2 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced
150 g (5½ oz) celeriac
1 red apple
2 teaspoons nigella seeds
For the dressing
100 g (3½ oz) Greek yoghurt
finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon, or to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
First, make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt, pepper or lemon juice if needed. Set to one side.
Now, assemble the salad. Pop the carrots, beetroot and spring onions into a salad bowl. Cut the celeriac and apple into fine matchsticks and add these to the bowl too - don't do this earlier or they will turn brown.
Toss enough of the dressing through the salad to coat the vegetables, then fold in the nigella seeds. Have a taste and add more salt, pepper or lemon juice if you like.
Set aside for a short time for the flavours to mingle, but no more than 20 minutes or it all goes a bit wet.