Charlotte's April Newsletter

Whether it’s welcome for the first time or welcome back, it’s great to be writing to you today and I’d like to thank you sincerely for subscribing to my newsletter. It’s fantastic to have a number of new readers join this month.

For those of you who are new here, I write a monthly roundup newsletter each month for free subscribers and an almost weekly newsletter for my paid subscribers. These are usually recipes and pieces of advice, which sit behind the paywall. So, if you’d like to sign up for more from me, you’d be very welcome and you can do so using the below link.

March was another busy month with plenty of travel and judging. I’ve been visiting establishments anonymously to review their food and drink and judging food and drink products for the Great Taste Awards. Yesterday, I spent the day judging espresso, with over 30 espresso shots judged throughout the day. The general judging days have been fascinating too, as many products are entered from dozens of countries, so I’ve been judging a really broad range of products which includes Yemeni spice pastes, seaweed butter, jun, chocolate bars and cheeses to name just a small selection.

I’ve had some lovely projects to get stuck into, too, including re-writing websites, planning some exciting food and drink themed lunch and learn sessions for businesses and advising rural businesses as they launch food-based projects. I always appreciate finding my work days so interesting and I’m equally delighted to hear from people who’d like to work with me.

Over the last couple of weeks some really fantastic new cookbooks have arrived on my desk and you can expect a roundup and competition soon, together with a number of great Italian-inspired recipes coming later this month.

For now though, I have some great classic cookbook recommendations, some seasonal growing suggestions and some recipe ideas for the weekend.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

With my very best wishes,

Charlotte

Recipe ideas for the weekend

• I’m trying this delicious-sounding fish dish from Roopa Gulati’s new book Indian Kitchens (as featured on Nigella’ website).

• I make all our bread at home, usually making 6 or 8 loaves at a time to freeze. Not only does it taste better than anything I can buy, I know we won’t find any rubbish inside. I wholeheartedly recommend this lovely recipe for an Irish stout bread from Cherie Denham, which couldn’t be easier to make.

• With the first of the asparagus making an appearance, I’ll be making Jane Lovett’s asparagus, taleggio and anchovy tart. Jane’s recipes are just brilliant for those days when time and inspiration are in short supply as they are so easy to make but hugely rewarding with the end result.

• This salmon recipe from Ottolenghi is one I’ve wheeled out time and time again, as it’s just so tasty.

• This isn’t a recipe, but last weekend, I cooked a bit of a fish feast. A standout was the scallops from Pesky, which needed just pan-frying for about a minute on each side with a little butter and served with chopped parsley and a lemon wedge to squeeze over. Possibly the easiest weekend treat ever!

Cookbooks from my archive

My cookbook collection is extensive and I thoroughly enjoy reading and cooking from new books each month. I use many for reference, but there are, however, quite a number of books that I use very regularly and have been a real part of my home cooking life and that of my family.

• The Ballymaloe Cookery Course by Darina Allen is a book I think every home should own. It is full of so many useful recipes and is a really good reference book. Another much-used reference book that I grew up with is the Leith’s Cookery Course, (less easy to get hold of nowadays) which contains so many brilliant recipes for basics and useful timings for cooking joints of meat and so on. My Mum and I still use it regularly.

• Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley is a newer book but one that I keep coming back to. There are so many excellent recipes within that continuously surprise and delight.

• The Riverford Farm Cook Book by Guy Watson and Jane Baxter is an excellent book - worth it for Jane’s lovely recipes. There are some particularly lovely recipes inspired by Jane’s Italian travels and time spent living in the Pacific that are extremely good.

• The Really Helpful Cookbook by Ruth Watson is a great book and I particularly like the pudding recipes within, which are straightforward but work brilliantly.

• India: The World Vegetarian by Roopa Gulati is my most comprehensively used cookbook. I’ve made everything in the book and many recipes dozens of times. It’s a really special and useful book and essential for anyone who aims to make better than restaurant-quality Indian food at home.

Into the garden

The garden is bursting into life at the moment with plenty of daffodils, purple and cream hellebore and muscari.

The fruit trees are mostly in blossom and the fig leaves are slowly unfurling. We’ve planted most of our veg for the year and tidied the beds ready for mulching with the pallet of extra compost that’s just been delivered.

Whilst the rewards are several months away, I have refreshed our salad boxes which is something I recommend for everyone to try, no matter what space you have available to grow. The flavour and freshness of homegrown leaves is incomparable to anything shop bought and it could not be easier to have a go yourself, even in a window box.

I prefer to buy seeds from a supplier like Chiltern Seeds, rather than the mixes found at the garden centre. Single varieties are great as are some leaf mixes. I always like to have mizuna, mibuna and red mustard available and serrata rocket and lettuce varieties such as camarde are great, too.

Simply plant, water and keep well-drained and you’ll have leaves to cut (and should come again) in a couple of weeks.