Gloucestershire food with Rob Rees June 2009

From freshly picked English strawberries to vibrant peas popped straight from the pod, the richly abundant month of June is The Cotswold Chef Rob Rees' favourite of the year, and it's easy to see why.

June is a great month with nature bursting into life in front of our very eyes. Herbs will be shooting up, berries will ripen, and vegetables will start to flower. Whether you are growing your own, or want to shop seasonally for some of Gloucestershire’s best produce, as summer really cranks into life, it’s only right that we start to indulge.

Small and sweet cucumbers are crisp and exploding with juice in June. You cannot beat the classic peeled cucumber finely diced and mixed with some Woodlands Farm yoghurt, chopped fresh garden mint and a sprinkling of caraway seeds. Serve with some Severn and Wye salmon that has been seared on a griddle and a drizzle of lemon juice and olive oil. Delicious.

Sorrel is also a fantastic lift to many fish dishes, adding a depth of flavour to sauces like hollandaise and lemon butter. You will need to shred the sorrel and sweat it in a little butter and seasoning before adding it to any sauces, however, stirring it in a few moments before serving. Salad leaves such as crisp little gems and romaine lettuce will also be popping their heads above the soil to get the warmth of the June sunshine, creating a beast of a lettuce that really packs a punch for its size.

Courgettes are starting to flower in June, if you pick the smaller ones you get a great value vegetable. Don’t just whack ‘em into a ratatouille though, these new season ones deserve more respect. Thinly sliced and tossed in a little olive oil, cracked black pepper and a touch of fresh thyme picked from the herb garden is enough to bring these veggies alive. For the truly gastronomic, consider making a mushroom stuffing or duxelle and fill the insides of the courgette flowers, poaching them gently and serving with a hot dressing of diced chorizo, shallots and garden herbs.

Peas will be everywhere by the end of June, taken fresh from the pods they are bursting with enriched flavours and nutrients. Delicious raw and mixed with salad leaves or lightly blanched in boiling water, preserving that colour is vital if you want to get maximum impact from one of the strongest flavours of the English palate.

The humble gooseberry is a wickedly good fruit which can be forgaged for in Gloucestershire’s countryside. If you pick them early you will need to sweeten them with a touch of local honey, or add some five spice or cumin and you have a perfect relish accompaniment for roasted pork.

And finally, who could forget that with the Wimbledon Championships about to start, English strawberries are now ripe and bursting with quintessential summertime flavour. Sweet enough on their own, or topped with an indulgent splodge of fresh cream, the opportunity to pick your own in Gloucestershire is a seasonal highlight that all the family can get involved in.

See you again in July for more scrumptious summer food highlights spread right across Gloucestershire’s borders.

Rob Rees
7 June 2009