THE SPRING HAS SPRUNG ONE

If I cook like it's spring then maybe it will happen

MENU TO SERVE 6 PEOPLE

SPRING GREENS SOUP

WILD GARLIC RAREBIT

BRAISED LAMB SHOULDER WITH LEEKS, ORZO AND DILL

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE CAKE 

Spring is SO, SO CLOSE. I CAN ALMOST TASTE IT. I believe it does legally start in March, no? If I am right then the weather we have been having is being VERY ILLEGAL. 

In any case, it felt appropriate to write a menu that celebrates this fabulous season and its bounty. I also find this is the month where lunches start happening again. The days are longer, walks are more enjoyable and there’s way less good day-time tv on. This menu would work both as a stunning spring lunch or dinner, and I should mention now that if ever in doubt please feel free to use any Dinner Party menu for a Lunch Party too should you wish - a party is a party is a party, whatever time it is.

Soup and a sandwich is most often employed as a casual meal, perhaps purchased from Pret and eaten “al desko” whilst doom scrolling Cult Beauty (or maybe that’s just me). This cold has had me craving it. I think it works beautifully for a crowd; something about a group of people all dunking cheesy bread and slurping hot soup feels so convivial. So I thought we would have it as this months starter but with a bit of a seasonal twist.

Wild garlic season is upon us! It’s still quite young here in London, and this week I took my life into my own hands and foraged myself some from a local graveyard (Abney Park Cemetery for my Hackney pals). I struggled to get a big haul this early in the season, but by the end of this month it will be thriving, especially back home at my parents in Somerset. The hills and valleys there will be reeking of garlic for most of late March and April, a smell that I look forward to every spring. It reminds me of my childhood, and last year I got a tattoo of it on my arm to cherish that memory. Here’s a pic of me and my lovely dad foraging wild garlic in the woods behind our house last year - told you there was a lot!

I bloody love cooking with it and I couldn’t get the idea of a Wild Garlic Rarebit out of my head. It works beautifully with cheese and a rarebit is a wonderful thing, especially with a creamy Spring Greens soup to dip it in. These two together are a rhapsody in green and look so fabulous as well as tasting it - a knockout way to start a meal. 

I haven’t done a big meaty main for a while and I love to cook a large joint to share, especially when it is as low effort / high reward as braised lamb shoulder. We all go wild for a one pan main too, so here the braising liquor from the lamb and sweet, soft leeks is used to cook orzo until plump and tender, and is then spiked with refreshing dill. It’s light but comforting, a perfect early Spring main.

Blueberry muffins are one of my favourite baked goods, I particularly love the Starbucks ones and have been known to eat two on the bounce. A buckle cake is a fruit studded sponge that has a crumbly, sugary topping - essentially a giant muffin, which is the approach I have taken with this batter. It’s an all day cake, moist and fluffy, perfect to have hanging out on the side for whenever someone comes over but also a really divine dessert, especially served warm with a blueberry mascarpone. 

Right! It’s time to get wet and wild! Let’s go!

NB - There’s quite a lot of oven use in this menu, so definitely try and spread the load and bake the cake the day before at the least. 

SPRING GREENS SOUP

Spring greens are young, tender cabbage plants and are always relatively cheap at the supermarket. They are the main ingredient in this soup but honestly I am taking spring greens as a theme too and have included watercress, spinach and broccoli for even more goodness and depth. I love this soup blended but if you can’t be bothered then it is just as lovely as a chunky broth with or without the cream. Toppings are always optional but the brown butter hazelnuts and the chives are really so, so sexy here so I thoroughly reccomend giving them a go. 

• 50g butter

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 sticks celery, diced

• 1 large potato, diced

• 1 parmesan rind, optional

• 400g spring greens, stripped from their stems and roughly chopped (prepped weight roughly 260g)

• 80g watercress

• 90g baby spinach

• 200g broccoli, diced

• 1l vegetable stock

• 150ml double cream plus extra for drizzling

• Small handful of parsley, roughly chopped

• Small handful of tarragon, roughly chopped 

• A good grating of nutmeg

• Salt and pepper 

To garnish

• 40g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

• 50g butter

• A small handful of chives, finely chopped

Melt the butter in a saucepan on a medium heat, then add the onion, celery and potato and a generous pinch of salt. Let the vegetables sweat in the butter for 10 - 12 minutes until softened, then add the parmesan rind and fry for a minute or two. Add in the broccoli and the hot stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 8 minutes or so until the broccoli and potato are soft, then add the spring greens and watercress. Simmer for 5 more minutes until they are tender - the leaves should have no bite to them, then finally add the spinach and stir in to wilt. Bring to a final simmer then remove from the heat, add the herbs, cream, nutmeg and check the seasoning. If you are blending then you can use a stick blender or jug blender. Blitz until as smooth as you like, I like a tiny bit of texture in mine. Set aside or refrigerate until needed. 

In a frying pan, melt the butter with the hazelnuts on a medium heat. The butter will eventually start to foam and the hazelnuts will toast in it, just keep moving them around so they cook evenly. When the foam starts to die down and the butter and the hazelnuts are golden, remove from the heat. 

Serve the soup drizzled with a tablespoon of cream, a good drizzling of the brown butter and chopped hazelnuts and a sprinkling of chives. 

MAKE AHEAD -

• You can make the soup up to 2 days ahead and keep in the fridge. It will stay greener if blended, so bare that in mind. 

• The butter and nuts will keep for 3 days in the fridge, just reheat until sizzling to serve. 

SUBSTITUTIONS -

• If you can’t get hold of spring greens or any of the greens you can replace their weight with more green leaves - spinach, chard, kale or cavolo nero will work. 

• Use olive oil and plant based cream if you want this to be vegan!

WILD GARLIC RAREBIT

Every year I try to find a new way to use wild garlic (last year I made Wild Garlic Lasagne). Buying it is a madness though as it’s so expensive, but it’s actually very easy to find and forage. It is most often found in shady woodland close to water, often in the vicinity of bluebells. Let your nose be the guide - you will smell it and if in doubt break a leaf and give it a whiff. When it is plentiful I like to forage a bunch, blitz it in butter or oil and then freeze it so I have it to use whenever I like. I blanched and blitzed it with cream for this rarebit and that works brilliantly but if you like it to be really strong, blitz it raw with the cream. This is NOT a traditional rarebit recipe as it doesn’t use ale - I tried it with and it was a bit too sour and overpowering. 

• 40g butter

• 20g plain flour

• 120ml double cream

• 200g mature cheddar, grated

• 50g parmesan, grated

• 50g wild garlic, VERY WELL WASHED

• 1 tbsp English mustard

• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 6 slices white bread

• 1 clove of garlic

If you want a milder flavour, blanch the wild garlic in boiling water until tender, around 2 minutes, then drain and blitz in a blender with the cream. If you are happy with a strong flavour just blitz it raw with the cream. 

Melt the butter in a pan until foaming on a medium heat, then add the flour and stir well. Cook your roux for 1 minute, then add in the wild garlic cream and stir well, getting rid of any lumps. Mix in the cheeses and let them melt in the cream, along with the mustard and worcestershire sauce and adjust the seasoning if it needs it. It will look pretty odd - like a thick, green sludge but don’t worry! That’s the point. 

Toast the bread on both sides and rub with the clove of garlic when it is still hot for extra flavour. Preheat your grill to high. 

Spread a couple of tablespoons of mix onto each piece of toast and lay them on a tray. 

Place under the grill and cook for 3 minutes or so until bubbling and starting to turn golden - don’t walk away, they will burn! Remove from the heat and serve immediately with hot soup. 

MAKE AHEAD - 

• The rarebit mix will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge, just reheat in a pan before you attempt to spread it on the toast.

SUBSTITUTIONS -

• You could use a milder cheddar if you prefer or even use a bit of grated mozzarella for a stringier effect.

BRAISED LAMB SHOULDER WITH ORZO, LEEKS AND DILL

Lamb is one of my all time favourite meats and a lamb shoulder is an especially useful cut, full of flavour and generous with fat. It is best slow cooked and this is PERFECT for a Dinner Party, especially when you then cook your sides in the braising liquor too. Orzo is so divine here, acting as a sponge soaking up that incredible juice. I like to use dill for an overarching Greek vibe, but you can use whatever herbs you like. 

For the lamb

• 1 large lamb shoulder, around 2.8kg

• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled

• 4 tsps fine salt

• 2 tsps black pepper

• 3 tsps dried mint

• 3 tsps dried dill

• 3 tsps sugar

• 1 handful of dill stalks, roughly chopped

• 3 tbsps olive oil

• 3 large leeks, thickly sliced

• 3 sticks celery, diced

• 200ml white wine

• 1l chicken or lamb stock

• 2 bay leaves

• 400g orzo

• 40g dill, chopped

• Zest of 1 lemon

• Salt and pepper

• Yoghurt to serve if you like

The day before you cook the lamb, blend or bash in a mortar and pestle the garlic, salt, pepper, dried herbs, sugar and dill stalks to make a dark green paste. Stab the lamb shoulder with a knife in a few places, top and bottom, then rub the paste all over getting in to all the nooks and crannies. Marinade over night and then remove from the fridge an hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 200 fan. 

Rub the lamb all over with the olive oil, place in a deep roasting tray and pop in the oven for 30 minutes to brown. After half an hour, remove the lamb and turn the oven down to 150. Pop the leeks, celery and bay in the tray with the lamb and pour in the wine and stock, season well and cover tightly with foil. Return to the oven for 3 hours, or until the lamb is spoonably tender. 

When the lamb is cooked, remove it from the tray and set aside to rest covered tightly in foil, it will stay piping hot for at least an hour so you can get it out before your guests arrive if you are doing it on the day. You can leave it on the bone or roughly shred the meat while it’s hot which might be a better option if you’re not serving it until much later or the next day. Turn the oven back up to 180. Stir the orzo into the braising stock, cover the tray with foil and return to the oven for 15 minutes. When the orzo is just tender stir through half the dill and the lemon zest, check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve the orzo topped with the lamb with more dill and a good drizzle of olive oil. 

MAKE AHEAD - 

• You can cook the lamb a day ahead and either keep it on the bone or shred it. To reheat the lamb on the bone, remove from the fridge to come to room temperature for 1 hour, then place in the oven at 160, covered in foil 50ml of cooking liquid for 30 - 40 minutes. You can turn the oven up to 180 for the final 15 and cook the orzo at the same time before serving, it is best cooked fresh! 

• If you are reheating the lamb shredded, place in a pan with a lid with 50ml of liquid and cook gently for 20 minutes on a medium heat until piping hot. 

SUBSTITUTIONS - 

• Onions or shallots would work so well instead of leeks if you prefer. 

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE CAKE

This is a seriously low key cake that is incredibly gorgeous to eat. The mildly spiced crumble topping aka streusel is, dare I say it, “crack-esque”, and the sponge itself is light and airy thanks to the muffin method and plenty of sour cream. When I say muffin method I mean minimal stirring, so this is a cake that requires no specialist kit, just a good spatula and a loving touch. I like taking some blueberries and making a little syrup to smoosh through mascarpone to serve alongside - it turns it from cake into a pudding. 

For the Streusel

• 130g demerara sugar

• 100g plain flour

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 pinch of ground cardamom

• 50g pecans, roughly chopped

• ½ tsp salt

• 90g unsalted butter, cold and diced

For the cake

• 250g plain flour

• 2 tsps baking powder

• 1 tsp fine salt

• 100g butter, melted

• 210g caster sugar

• 200ml sour cream

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 250g blueberries - 200g for the cake, 50g for the top

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• Zest of half a lemon

For the blueberry mascarpone

• 120g blueberries

• 20g caster sugar

• Zest of half a lemon

• 250g mascarpone

Grease and line a 23cm springform cake tin and set aside. Preheat your oven to 180 fan. Start by making the streusel. In a bowl use your hands to rub the cold butter into the flour and sugar until it resembles breadcrumbs, as if you were making a crumble. Stir in the spices, salt and chopped pecans then pop in the fridge to chill while you make the cake. 

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a large bowl mix together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest. Tip the flour mix and blueberries into the bowl and fold them in gently until just combined - it will only need about 6 or 7 turns with the spatula and doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth. The less mixing the better! Scrape the batter into the tin and smooth it out a bit, it’s quite thick so needs a little help. Take your crumble topping and cover the batter with it, it will feel like a lot but don’t worry! Scatter over the remaining blueberries, pressing them in a bit. Carefully place the cake into the middle of your oven and bake for around 55 - 60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. It’s a big cake so takes a while to cook. If the top is at any point getting too brown, cover it lightly with a piece of foil. When the cake is done, transfer it to a wire rack and leave to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes before undoing the sides.

While the cake is baking take the remaining 120g of blueberries and pop them in a pan with the sugar and lemon zest on a low to medium heat with a teaspoon of water. As the blueberries heat up they will burst and create a lovely thick syrup with the sugar and lemon. Cook for about 10 minutes until you have a thick, lumpy blueberry sauce, I like to keep it chunky with big bits of blueberry but if you prefer you can cook it out more and even strain out the lumps if you like. Cool the sauce to room temperature before gently swirling through the mascarpone. 

Warm the cake in a 150 fan oven for 10 minutes if it is completely cold, then slice and serve with dollops of the blueberry mascarpone.

MAKE AHEAD - 

• You can absolutely make the cake the day before and keep it covered or in a tupperware (uncut) at room temperature. If you cut the cake at all it will be more susceptible to drying out so avoid that until it’s time to serve. Reheat whole as above.

• The streusel can be made and kept in a tupperware in the fridge up to 3 days ahead.

• The blueberry sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead, just wait to mix with the mascarpone shortly before serving.

SUBSTITUTIONS - 

• Blueberries can be raspberries, strawberries, blackberries or even cherries when in season.

• I love putting pecans in the topping but if you have a nut allergy just leave them out. 

• Equally pistachios, walnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts would be a great swap too. 

TIMEPLAN 

This first plan should help you see what you can get done in advance, so that for each course on the day you have at least 1, maybe 2 major parts of it taken care of. I appreciate that not everyone’s weeks are easily peppered with dinner party prep, but if you’re hosting after work or on a day where you can’t be in the kitchen, getting ahead is going to save your arse.

MISE-EN-PLACE

This is the fancy name we give to the food prep each section in the restaurant needs to do for their dishes. Hopefully breaking down each dish like this will help you feel organised. 

Use the hour before your guests arrive to organise your space too- I find it helpful to group ingredients by dish so it is all in the same place. Little ramekins are really useful for this.

STYLING GUIDE

SPRING GREENS SOUP

A soup is always a reliable provider of a Jackson Pollock moment and this is no exception - the splatters of alabaster cream, golden buttery foam and deep green chives sing on the surface of our elegant emerald soup. Therefore there isn’t much need for a helpful bowl, if you happen to have any in pastel colours or oatmeal or beige, they will work best with our palate. But honestly a white bowl would look spectacular too.

WILD GARLIC RAREBIT

The striking shrek-like goo on these make them an easy win. I love to pile them on a wooden board and send them up and down the table that way, alternatively each on a little blue side plate looks really sweet too.

BRAISED LAMB SHOULDER WITH ORZO, LEEKS AND DILL

It’s a big hunk of meat if you keep it on the bone, so whack it on your biggest platter on a pile of the glorious orzo and dill. Because it’s slow cooked it doesn’t require carving, rather a fork and a spoon to ease the meat off. If you have shredded the meat already, then it might be nice to do two or three plates over the table with the same format - orzo on the bottom, lamb on top. I like patterned plates for this with bright colours - blues, greens, yellows. 

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE CAKE 

She’s a beautiful brown babe this one, so the lilac swirls in the blueberry mascarpone offer a beautiful lift. I like to pile the mascarpone in a bowl that is a bit too small for it - the heap is so evocative, and then also swoosh it onto your plate next to your slices. Have fun with it! This would look so lovely on a cake stand if you have one.