Spring

Skye Gyngell first came to public prominence as the Head Chef of Petersham Nurseries Cafe, a restaurant set up in the grounds of Petersham House. Winning a Michelin star in 2011, the highly seasonal menu and location was meant to be the antithesis of restaurants found in London proper. Ironically the star ultimately led to her decision to leave Petersham Nurseries, as she felt that the location didn’t meet the expectations of the new influx of clients. After taking a little time out, Skye set about creating a new restaurant in an elegant high ceilinged space at Somerset House, and this book was borne out of the process.

And what a gorgeous book Spring is! Primarily a cookbook, but also with a nod to the restaurant, it details the redevelopment of the space and the creation of the recipes. Page after page of delicious combinations that flexitarians particularly will want to eat. There are sections on making bread, your own cordials, ice-cream, butter and yoghurt – even for experienced cooks there are things here to learn or light touches to admire.

These are the recipes:

Starters: asparagus with crème frâiche and Parmesan; eggs, anchovies, celery heart and radishes; carpaccio of wild salmon with pickled green tomatoes and horseradish crème frâiche; crab with crème frâiche and roe; spice-roasted quail with celeriac and walnuts; nettle risotto; chickpea soup with pancetta and sage; potato and porcini soup

Bread: how to make a starter; sourdough; rye bread; rye crackers

Dairy: butter; yoghurt; ricotta

Salads: Little gem, candied walnuts and Caesar dressing; salad of beetroot, tomatoes, goat’s curd and radicchio; raw cabbage, fennel and pecorino salad; slaw with pears, toasted hazelnuts and buttermilk dressing; spinach, wild herbs and goat’s curd; spelt, anchovies and mint; octopus salad with potatoes, capers and olives; crab salad with chilli, squash, curry leaves and lime; roast chicken, tarragon and gorgonzola salad

Pasta: making and shaping fresh pasta; purpled with oxtail argue; ravioli with sheep’s milk ricotta and herb butter; spelt pasta with farrow and pancetta

Seafood: grilled langoustine with seaweed butter; scallops with white beans, fennel and speck; squid with peas and sage; turbot with porcini and bone marrow; wild salmon with preserved lemon butter; sea bass with roasted tomatoes and girolles; halibut with mustard seeds, curry leaves and tomatoes; mackerel with bread and almond sauce

Meat: guinea fowl with farrow and parsley cream; grouse with corn purée and roast figs; braised kids with squash, tamarind and chickpeas; lamb cutlets with roasted red peppers and salsa verde; butterflied lamb with roasted beetroots and carrots; slow-cooked pork with Jerusalem artichokes and walnut and parsley sauce; spiced pork and veal meatballs with tomato sauce; veal chop with fried courgette shoestrings and aïoli; fillet of beef with anchovy, brown butter and wild greens; skirt steak with kimchi

Vegetables: samphire and chilli oil; radishes poached in chicken stock and butter; broccoli with garlic, chilli and black olive dressing; spinach with girolles; slow-cooked courgettes with tarragon; slow-cooked chard with chickpeas; yellow wax beans, radicchio, barley and basil; new season’s potatoes with lovage oil

Fermented: kombucha; sauerkraut; kimchi

Dessert: iced summer fruits with rose-scented geranium syrup; rhubarb crisp; blackcurrant and buttermilk pudding; summer pudding; quince and cobnut tart; plum upside down cake; apple galette; bitter chocolate and espresso cake; candied blood orange and white chocolate nougat; canelés de Bordeaux

Ice-Creams: langues de chat; vanilla ice-cream; burnt caramel, ginger and chocolate ice-cream; roasted strawberry and balsamic ice-cream; blueberry, lemon and mascarpone ice-cream; walnut and chestnut honey ice-cream; Campari, pomegranate and clementine sorbet; ricotta, pistachio and chocolate ice-cream sandwich

Drinks: lime cordial; cucumber and lime cordial; lovage and fennel seed cordial; lemon barley water; quince, ginger and bay cordial; white peach and lemon verbena; grenadine; tonic; bitters; fig liqueur; bicerin

Spring, at Somerset House

I think we’re all trying to eat more vegetarian food aren’t we? At least occasionally? I’m predominantly a vegetarian these days, though I will sometimes eat fish. But just because you’re eating something vegetarian, it doesn’t mean you have to be boring about it! This dish satisfies on several levels, and if you really want a bit of protein with it – try adding something delicious, such as a few pieces of Spanish Jamón Ibérico crisped in the oven {which is what I did for Hubby}.

The other key thing about eating vegetarian food is to eat seasonally, so that ingredients are at their peak both in terms of taste and nutrition, and incurring as few food miles as possible.

Ingredients {serves 2}

5 carrots
1 orange pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp green cardamom seeds {podded}
3 Tbsp Marsala
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1/2 golden beetroot
3 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1 bunch of asparagus
Handful of parsley
2 Little Gem lettuces
1 Tbsp wild garlic juice*
3 Tbsp natural yoghurt

To Dress:
10 slices of Jamón Ibérico {optional}
Edible flowers {optional}

Method:

Peel the carrots, and if they’re large, cut them into quarters. Chop the pepper into cubes, don’t worry about peeling the skin {unless you desperately want to}
Put the carrots and peppers into an appropriate roasting dish with the caraway and cardamom, and the oil. Season with salt and pepper, and put into a hot oven, at around 180ºC
In the meantime, peel and finely slice the beetroot on a mandolin – put into the balsamic vinegar
Mix about 1 tablespoon of wild garlic juice* into the yoghurt and set to one side
De-ear your asparagus {just pull of the triangular leaves you find on the stalk} and set to one side
If using the Bellotta, put individual strips onto a foil lined baking tray, and put in the oven for around 10 minutes, or until they are coloured and crisp
When the carrots begin to colour slightly, pour the Marsala into the dish, and put back into the oven
Pick over your parsley, and rinse it, then spin it in a salad spinner, to remove the excess water
Slice your individual little gem lettuce leaves through the spine into long strips
Remove the stamens from your edible flowers, if using
When the carrots and peppers begin to caramelise, pop your asparagus tips into a small pan of boiling water, until just cooked
While the asparagus is cooking begin to plate up – put a small handful of the parsley and little gem onto the plate, and top with the carrots and pepper. Scatter your edible flowers, if using, and place a few discs of the pickled beetroot onto the dish. Spoon small ‘blobs’ of the garlic yoghurt onto the plate and top with the asparagus… You can also mix the remaining balsamic vinegar with the oil from the carrots, and dress the dish with that. If using the ham, top the dish with this last, to ensure it remains crisp.

* When wild garlic is in season, I run boxes of the leaves through the juicer, and then freeze the juice in ice-cube trays. Mixed either with olive oil and vinegar to produce a vinaigrette, or here mixed with yoghurt, or added to stews and sauces, it adds an incredible level of umami to any dish!

Spring, by Skye Gyngell

Warm spring salad, with a wild garlic dressing