Food File - What's in season in April

PubChef's guide to what's in season in April

Spring lamb - Spring means the arrival of warmer weather, longer days and lots of lovely lamb. Before the advent of modern farming methods, March and April were the first months of the year that Britons could savour top quality lamb. Traditional roast lamb is the meal of choice for many homes in the UK on Easter Day. Lamb meat is generally very tender with a rosy pink appearance. Most cuts can be simply grilled, though shanks, neck and shoulder benefit from slow braising. Leg of lamb is the favoured cut for roasts and is traditionally served with mint sauce.

Wild Garlic - The British variant of a cooking ingredient most commonly linked to Asian cuisine can be found growing at the bottom of a pub garden. However, unlike its Asian cousin, it's the leaves rather than the bulbs which form the culinary use of British wild garlic. The vegetable can be used for seasoning or to create wild garlic soup. Other recipes include poached egg mushrooms & wild garlic and steamed monkfish with wild garlic and ginger. Wild Garlic can be found growing in woodland across south east England and East Anglia. Though similarly powerful in odour to its Asian relative it is much milder in taste.

Spinach - Popeye's strength-boosting snack also makes a versatile culinary ingredient. The iron-rich vegetable may not have as dramatic an affect on your energy levels as it does on the cartoon character's, but it is packed with healthy vitamins C and K. The vegetable is also a good source of folate, magnesium and manganese. Spinach can be eaten raw in salads, though cooking in stir-fries and quiches boosts the digestibility of its healthy properties.

Jersey Royal Potatoes - The first crop of one of the Channel Island's most famous exports hits pub plates in April. Jersey Royal Potatoes are rich in earthy flavour and match perfectly with spring lamb on a roast dinner plate. Alternatively Jersey Royals can be used to create a potato salad, or can be threaded with vegetables and meat on to barbecue-style kebab sticks. The potatoes are grown in the fertile soil of Jersey between January and March, with more than 40,000 tonnes delivered to supermarkets and eateries in the UK. Jersey Royals are rich in complex carbohydrates and Vitamin C.