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What is Good to Eat in May
A seasonal food guide to May
May is a busy month for me, it’s a time when the kitchen garden is ready to take off after a long winter and wet spring. The weather can still be hit and miss, throwing the odd frost at us but food wise we have definately turned a corner.
Salads and summer vegetables start to come to the fore now, peas, broad beans, early borlotti and summer squash all help to brighten our meals up. Early sowings of radishes and rocket provide a peppery bite to our salads and young spinach leaves make a welcome addition.
Asparagus is what this month is all about, it is at it’s best in May and should be used for all it’s worth before becoming thick and woody. Sorrel is a herb worth looking at, it looks and grows in a similar fashion to spinach but it has a wonderful sharp, lemon flavour perfectly suited to fish dishes. The only downside to cooking sorrel is that it loses its bright green colour almost immediately and if left too long in a sauce will soon turn an unappealing grey.
Wild salmon is the choice fish in May, if you can afford it then cook it with some of that asparagus and sorrel because it doesn’t get much better than that. If you want a slightly cheaper option then try sea trout, not quite as good but still very tasty and can be cooked in exactly the same way.
Finally, if ‘picking your own’ is your thing then there is still plenty of wild garlic and leeks to be had, I have just found a great place for wild garlic and shall revisit at the earliest oportunity. Wild chervil is around as is the lovely meadowsweet, the first pignuts can be picked as can morel and St.George mushrooms.
Enjoy the month.
Miles,
Without the local know-how I’ll have to settle for my grocer and today’s produce… don’t know what I fancy until I get there. One thing I do know is that fruit and veg always look better and are less likely to get squashed in a proper basket, everyone should have one.
Thanks for this post Miles, it’s always interesting to know what’s at its best and what’s going on in the hedgerow.
Cid
May 1, 2008 @ 2:37 pm
Cid,
You are blessed with an excellent local greengrocer who will steer you in the right direction. I don’t expect everyone to grow their own of go foraging but I think it’s useful to know what to look out for in your local shop.
Miles
May 1, 2008 @ 8:02 pm
Miles,
In the end I opted for local asparagus, beetroot, carrots, avocado, tomatoes on the vine, large chestnut mushrooms, purple sprouting broccoli, sweet grapes and strawberries. Now some of those went towards the juicer with the remains of a ripe pineapple… but for dinner, steamed asparagus with a sort of up market fry up with Cotswold Legbar eggs… strawberries were good enough to eat on their own.
The weight of groceries I carried home pointed to a major shop but then my purse felt very light too …. the new asparagus was nearly £2 for a small bunch enough for one and so it went on. Mustn’t complain though, everything was top quality, packed with goodness and on the doorstep.
Cid
May 2, 2008 @ 7:19 am
Cid,
Sounds like a great shopping basket, everyone it seems is talking about the price of food now but what about a bottle of my favourite Semillon? Up a £1 on last year. Outrageous, no wonder Labour got a hammering yesterday!
Miles
May 2, 2008 @ 7:37 am
Miles,
… that’s nothing, Bollinger went up £6
Cid
May 2, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
Cid,
I’ll have to take your word for it
Miles
May 2, 2008 @ 3:46 pm