May is colourful, vivid green peas, vibrant orange carrots, and lustrous cherries are all coming into season, and turning the vegetable market into a visual feast as well as a culinary one.
Spring has sprung, and with it come a wealth of yummy things including new potatoes, the first cherries and strawberries of the year.
Depending on where you are, it may not be too warm just yet, but don’t let that put you off whipping up a salad or ten, because this is the moment that a lot of salad ingredients are at their very best.
Asparagus has a very short season and it’s here right now, as is the peppery loveliness of watercress, and the peas…. mmmm, the peas!
Here is our list of the very best things in season (in the Northern hemisphere):
Apricot
Asparagus
Aubergine
Basil
Broad beans
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cherries
Chicory
Elderflower
Gooseberry
Morel mushrooms
Nettles
New potatoes (Jersey Royals)
Peas
Radishes
Rhubarb (outdoor)
Rocket
Samphire
Sorrel
Spinach
Spring onion
Strawberry
Watercress
So, salads are definitely the order of the day month!
It’s also worth remembering to take advantage of new potatoes while they are in season, boil them whole and serve them with lashings of butter and some flakes of sea salt – simple, but delicious!
If you eat seafood or meat then the highlights of the month are crab, which is at it’s very best about now, and spring lamb.