weekend
FRESH START SEASONAL
Welcome February with bright, inspiring recipes from Esther Clark photographs DANIELLE WOOD
T
he beginning of a new year brings us a fresh batch of seasonal delights. Citrus comes into its own this month, bitter chicory leaves are ready and sweet leeks begin to pop out of the ground. Now’s the time to refresh your cooking routine. Ruby red grapefruit doesn’t just make a healthy breakfast – it’s also a welcome addition in both sweet and savoury dishes. Try baking grapefruit into a polenta cake or adding the juice to mocktails. Or, try a bright salad with notes of tamarind, sesame and fish sauce. The tart grapefruit pairs so well with creamy avocado, sweet prawns and the salty, umami-rich dressing. Look out for other citrus fruits, including Italian lemons and Seville and blood oranges, all at their peak this time of year. The humble leek is also ready for harvesting during the cooler months. These green-topped shoots can be whizzed into creamy soups with
celeriac and mustard, or baked into a gratin with cheese sauce to serve alongside a roast dinner. Leeks turns deliciously sweet when fried until soft, making them the ideal addition to our tart which combines caramelised leeks with salty manchego cheese and smoky chorizo. Chicory, with its striking leaves, sits somewhere between cabbage and lettuce. It can be eaten raw or cooked, and its veined leaves are tightly packed, with a white centre. There’s also a yellow variety and its sister veg, the radicchio. Chicory teams well with creamy, salty cheese like goat’s, so we’ve partnered the two in a roasted squash and herby couscous dish for a wonderfully colourful, fresh and satisfying supper.
Esther is a freelance recipe writer and food stylist who trained at Leiths School of Food & Wine, before working as a chef in Italy. She loves to cook for friends at home and enjoys creating recipes using new ingredients and seasonal produce. @esthermclark
62 BBC Good Food Middle East February 2022
