What’s in season?

These days you can get these fruity little berries all year round, but there’s still a flutter of excitement when the first English strawberries enter stores. There’s good reason for this - our British climate is perfect for growing soft fruits and as such, you’ll be rewarded with sweet, tasty, juicy fruits that hold all the promise of summer. Soft fruit doesn’t keep for long so try scouring the local farm shops and Pick Your Own farms where you will be guaranteed freshly picked berries. To enjoy them at their best, place washed, prepared fruits in full sun for two hours to bring out their flavour.

Fresh really is best when it comes to home-grown raspberries. Being soft, these berries do not keep well and should be eaten as soon as they are picked or bought. Try to avoid washing them as this can cause them to disintegrate – instead, wipe with damp kitchen paper to clean them. Their wonderful tart yet sweet flavour means a little goes a long way, but they are especially good as a palate cleanser with a rich chocolatey dessert.

This summer, make it your goal to enjoy the simple pleasure of podding fresh peas. Yes, it may be take five minutes longer than getting the Bird’s Eyes out of the freezer, but it is this reconnecting with where our food comes from that’s so often missing from our lives today. Much like broad beans, fresh peas can be used raw in salads, or quickly parboiled for 30 seconds and used in risottos, pasta, soups and purées.