Gloucestershire food with Rob Rees May 2010

Rob Rees, The Cotswold Chef, will be foraging for wild garlic and chewing on Gloucestershire asparagus this May.

While April is traditionally the ‘no man’s land’ of the English larder and is a real month of transition, May is when the exciting period of new growth really begins.

It has been one of the strangest springs for the food world. With such a cold winter there have been delays in our seasonal crops, yet with the burst of warmth in early April we have also seen crops such as wild garlic and English asparagus arrive early.

The asparagus season kicked off on St Georges Day last month, and continues to thrive in May. This is a goddess of vegetables and a true champion of Englishness. Young tender stems are a delight to eat (even raw) with a vibrant flavour and unique aroma.

Of course Gloucestershire’s chefs can put their skill to work creating mousses, tarts and using asparagus, but you can’t beat the classic lightly steamed dish with a shimmer of Netherend Farm butter livened with a gentle squeeze of lemon. Served with a chilled glass of Cloud Nine English wine on a sunny spring evening is sheer bliss.

Brave cooks should also try a homemade hollandaise – an indulgent dip for the tips made with great quality free range eggs like Cotswold Legbars or Burford Browns, and lashings of butter.

Wild garlic – a wild ingredient revived in local eateries, delis and kitchens across the county – was early this year. Be careful not to confuse it with the poisonous lily of the valley, and only use the leaf, stem or flower as the bulb is far too strong and will upset the strongest of tummies.

Use it shredded into a risotto or as the final stir into a watercress soup at the point of puree; or the adventurous can blanch the leaves and wrap them around Old Spot tenderloin or lamb fillet topped with a delicate stuffing.

Gloucestershire’s gardeners will know that the first of the radishes sown in the seed beds, pots and allotments will also now have come to fruition – sometimes as early as three weeks after planting.

Delightful picked fresh, washed and eaten raw; radishes are also tasty thinly sliced and simmered in some garlic cream and finely chopped English parsley – perfect on top of baked sweet potatoes.

You can also place radishes cut into quarters into a saucepan with a little zest of lime, dusting of Five Spice and hint of sugar and water, before simmering together to create a sweet sticky glaze and served as English-style tapas.

While the weatherman might not always agree, by mid-May spring really sprung. As the excitement for summer mounts, Gloucestershire is a county that simply shines as one of the greatest of English larders the country has to offer.

See you again in June for more lovely local food highlights from across Gloucestershire.