local food right to your door

In the KITCHEN

Fresh, flavoursome and light, this super spring dish is a cinch to prepare and will happily cook away whilst you entertain your dinner guests...

ROASTED COD, LEMON & ARTICHOKES

Preparation Time: 10 minutes. Cooking Time: 40 minutes. Serves Four. 500g new potatoes, halved • 250g artichoke hearts • Four fresh cod fillets, weighing approx 150g-200g per person Olive oil • Lemon juice • Salt and pepper to season • Pitted olives, optional • Fresh rosemary, chopped, optional.

Preheat your oven to 230°c, gas mark eight, then slice the new potatoes and artichokes, adding the olives if you’re using them. Season with salt and pepper, add a light drizzle of olive oil, then spread on a greaseproof paper lined baking tray or oven dish and bake for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, brush the fish with olive oil and season to taste. Remove the vegetables from the oven and place the fish on top of the vegetables. Bake for a further 10 minutes until the vegetables are brown then squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish and serve with lemon wedges. n

Artichoke Lasagne

Serves: Eight. Preparation Time: 30 Minutes. Cooking Time: One and a half hours. Rapeseed oil 300g artichoke hearts, chopped and marinated Lasagne sheets 300g chopped spinach One onion, diced 800g tomato based sauce or Passata Two cloves garlic 420ml good vegetable stock 350g mozzarella, grated Feta cheese, crumbled to top. Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Spray a 20x30cm or similar sized baking dish with rapeseed oil. Drizzle a large frying pan with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and garlic for three minutes or until it’s tender-crisp. Stir in the vegetable stock and rosemary; bring to the boil. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer five minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce.

Spread about a quarter of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with three lasagne sheets. Sprinkle over a quarter of the mozzarella. Repeat this layering process twice more, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella cheese. Now, sprinkle crumbled feta on top Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 further minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. n

THREE WAYS

WITH GLOBE ARTICHOKES

Artichoke Crostini

A sophisticated starter in just ten minutes - boil or steam your artichokes or, by way of a shortcut, use tinned artichokes, and place in a blender or food processor with garlic, a bit of olive oil and grated Parmesan. Snip a few chives in too, then pulse to a chunky paste. Serve on warm Hambleton sourdough bread.

On a Pizza

Make a posh pizza, with a homemade pizza base. Smothered the base in a good quality tomato sauce or passata, smooth on some pesto, and scatter on grilled artichoke hearts. Cover with mozzarella and drizzle over a little of the artichoke oil from your pan.

With Pasta

Boil spaghetti in salted water. Whilst it cooks, mix lemon juice, olive oil and pesto together. Drain the pasta then return to the pan with the lemon mix, artichoke hearts and rocket.

Gin-spired by Norma Jean...

This month’s recommended gin just wants to be loved by you! The perfect pink tipple for spring and summer with a touch of 1950s and early 1960s glam. Pink in appearance, the Marilyn Monroe Gin is a floral and delicate creation distilled with Japanese cherry blossom, hibiscus, rose and pink grapefruit. The bottle design features iconic images of Marilyn Monroe including the legendary ‘white dress’ photo. Zesty, floral to the fore, this pink gin delivers well-balanced notes and a long, smooth finish, pairing well with most tonic. £35 / 70cl / 40% ABV www.burleighsgin.com

The Wine Cellar

Wine of the Month

Maree d’Ione Organic Fiano

£25.99 / 2.5l / 12.5% ABV

Remember how terrible boxed wines were? Well, the box is back but the quality is much improved, hence this recommendation. From the slopes of Puglia using Fiano grapes, this organic wine is really dry, fragrant and floral, with hints of mango and pineapple. It is extremely well-balanced, with a crisp and refreshing acidity and layered deep notes of exotic fruits, ideal for summer days in the garden or barbecues! Available from Waitrose Cellar.

THIS MONTH WE CELEBRATE MALBEC DAY, A NEW LOCAL GIN INSPIRED BY MARILYN MONROE, AND A DELICIOUS SWEET RUM WITH BANANA AND PINEAPPLE... GREAT SPRING TREATS!

WORLD MALBEC DAY: Celebrate on 17th April with these three magnificent Malbecs!

The Aaaar-tisan Distillery’s Bounty

1. Our first option is a round, smooth Malbec from one of the oldest wineries in Mendoza. Notes of plum, ripe cherry, with the perfect hint of spice, great with a Saturday evening steak, £10.49 / 75cl / 14% ABV

2. This mid-range Malbec enjoys fragrant violets, blueberry fruit and lots of floral hints on its palate. Coffee and its toasty oak-barrel derived maturity creates a complex, mature and great expression of the Malbec grape, £10.49 / 75cl / 14% ABV.

3. And by way of a finale, we present this epic Zuccardi Aluvional Altamira, silky, full-bodied with great structure and a nice long finish, £55 / 75cl / 15% ABV. Ahoy there landlubbers, if ye be after pirate-strength rum this spring, local spirit producer Bottomley Distillers has created this 40% golden rum, spiced with cinnamon and ginger then sweetened with banana and pineapple. The company will be releasing an over proof version soon too, but for now, Rumcat marks the spot like an enormous ‘X’ in the sand if you’re looking for a sweet summer tipple,

£35 / 70cl / 40% ABV,

bottomleydistillers.co.uk

n Our featured wines are available from the best local independent wine merchants, supermarkets and online, prices are RRP and may vary from those stated.