What To Cook With This Month
By Holly Thomson
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May 1st, 2024
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Summer feasting is all about simplicity: ingredients that enhance flavour with just one drizzle or pinch; dishes served family-style and sprinted outside to make the most of the sun.
Susy Villasuso's Mexican recipes are an epic place to start. If you snagged a ticket to our online Masterclass with Susy, you'll be prepped and ready to go. If you missed it, she's shared the crowd-pleasing recipes for her Abobo Verde Roasted Cauliflower Tacos, Wild Mushroom Queso Fundido and Almond Ice Lollies.
And if your thoughts are turning to BBQs, then make sure you revisit chef Jenny Greenhalgh's fantastic collection of smoky BBQ ideas. Including Pomegranate molasses smoked goat tacos, and Szechuan lamb belly bao buns.
10 amazing ingredients to try this month
Chanterelle mushrooms are prized by top chefs and fungi enthusiasts for their unique taste and appearance. The velvety, golden mushrooms can taste peppery, slightly sweet and even fruity.
In France, they are often paired with poultry, either as a simple side dish or in a creamy sauce flavoured with garlic, thyme and marsala wine.
You can add these hand-picked mushrooms to salads, pasta, omelettes and savoury souffés. For a simple dinner party starter, fry the chanterelles with butter and garlic and serve on thick slices of chargrilled bread.
The wild mushrooms are a great match for cheeses like Gruyère and Taleggio, too. Try using them to make mushroom tarts and crostini.
This Greek extra virgin olive oil is bold and intense. Made with Megaritiki olives, it has a rich, fruity flavour with notes of berries and exotic fruit. It includes a cork stopper and spout, to use as storage as well.
This olive oil can stand up to strong flavours like red meat and oily fish. It’s ideal for marinating pork and lamb for the grill or barbecue.
The amber-coloured oil is fantastic on grilled vegetables and leafy greens. Or, mix it with Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and lemon juice to make a vinaigrette.
Hispaniola paella seasoning is your shortcut to an authentic Spanish paella. This fragrant blend will transport you to sunny Valencia!
Turmeric and saffron gives the rice its classic golden colour. Black pepper, paprika and herbs add depth of flavour while the rice cooks.
Impress dinner party guests with a show-stopping seafood paella. Or, make a traditional paella Valenciana with chicken and rabbit.
Giuseppe Giusti’s 5 gold medal balsamic vinegar is aged for 20 years. And every year of these two decades contributes to the unparalleled flavour of the rich, dark Italian condiment. It is the perfect balance of sharp, fruity, earthy flavour. This is the ultimate balsamic vinegar - with real sweetness and complexity from its age, but also a hint of acidity to bring the ultimate balance.
Use this fabulous balsamic vinegar to add the finishing touch to roasted vegetables, simple salads or perfectly seared steak. Or simply enjoy as a dip with quality olive oil. This is a balsamic to put in centre stage on your dish, so make it the star of the show.
Cavi-art tosago orange seaweed caviar is a sustainable, vegan alternative to fish roe. With its bright orange colour and bold flavour, it can be used as a substitute for masago and tobiko when making sushi. It’s also great on crab cakes, omelettes, crackers and salads.
Small orange fish roe is popular in Scandinavian cooking, and is delicious with sour cream and dill in a sauce for salmon. It keeps well once opened, so you don't need to worry about using a lot at once - unlike traditional orange caviar.
You can also serve on blinis, open sandwiches, scrambled eggs and seared scallops.
Cool Chile Co’s whole ancho chillies give a mild, slightly sweet flavour to salsas, Mexican mole and sauces. Ancho chilli is Mexico’s most widely used chilli. It also comes in powder and flakes form.
Dark oxblood red and wrinkled, these dried chillies have notes of dried fruit and bitter chocolate. They are delicious stuffed with chorizo and simmered in a tomato sauce, or blended with spices for a stew base.
This Huilerie Beaujolaise mango vinegar has a bold, fruity flavour that works wonderfully with fish and seafood. Made in France, it combines the juice of ripe mangoes with vinegar and sugar to create a potent, tropical condiment. The vinegar is left to age and once the flavours have developed, it’s ready to be used in dressings, marinades and sticky glazes.
You can use mango vinegar in cocktails and mocktails or drizzle it straight over salads and slaws. Try adding a splash to a mango and red onion salsa to serve with grilled fish or jerk chicken.
Fennel pollen is a rare luxury - tiny dried heads of wild fennel flowers. The spice has a sweeter and far more intense flavour than fennel seeds, meaning that a little goes a long way.
Fennel pollen’s nickname – The Spice of Angels – is probably a more appropriate way of labelling the spice. Partly because the smallest pinch of wild fennel pollen can transform a dish with heavenly, honey-aniseed flavours.
And also because the name fits with the precious nature of wild fennel pollen. Like saffron, it takes a lot of picking to produce a small amount, making fennel pollen one of the most highly-revered spices out there.
We sampled tens of different pistachio pastes before choosing this one!
Sicilian pistachios are loved all over the world for their vibrant green colour and intense pistachio flavour.
The pistachio paste is suitable for both savoury and sweet recipes, as it has no added sugar. Use the pistachio paste in everything from an Italian pesto for stirring through pasta dishes, to our stunning homemade pistachio ice cream recipe. Add a little sugar, and perhaps cream to make your own sweet spread to have on toast; or enjoy as a savoury treat topped with parmesan shavings or a little salt and Greek yoghurt.
Spread the thick, smooth paste over slices of brioche for an indulgent breakfast. Fold into whipped cream to make a silky pistachio filling for tarts, or stir into white chocolate ganache to fill macarons. It can also be used to flavour macaron fillings, biscuits, and even baklava.
Honest Toil’s kalamata olives have a rich, salty flavour that’s perfect for salads and tapenade. Deep purple in colour, the olives have a firm, meaty texture and an addictive bitter taste.
They are a delicious addition to grazing boards, antipasti platters and mezze feasts. Ripened in the Greek sunshine, kalamata olives have an intense flavour that can stand up to other bold ingredients.
Pair them with spicy salami on a pizza or salty feta in a classic Greek salad. They’re ideal for baking into bread or to serve as a snack with wine or beer.
This is how to use it the low ‘n’ slow American way. Massage a generous amount of the rub into the pork ‘butt’ or shoulder and seal in a plastic food bag. Refrigerate overnight for best results.
Light your barbecue smoker and heat to 225°F/107°C. Add your choice of woodchips and place the pork in the middle of the barbecue. Cook for 2 hours per kilo of meat, until the centre of the thickest part of the meat reaches 190°F/88°C. Rest for half an hour before shredding.
More Ideas To Try This Month
TRY: Michael Zee recipes from Zao Fan Breakfast of China, the SymmetryBreakfast star's new cookbook.
Head to the Bureau of Taste to keep up to date with the freshest ideas and food trends.
