Inspire me with your springtime meal ideas!

[hisgirlfriday]

After a long and frugal winter of slow-cooker overdose I don't want to see another chicken/sausage casserole, beef stew or hearty winter soup for a long time.

I've been out and bought a lovely big bunch of daffs for the dining room table so help me think of some nice springtime food to go with them. As a start I have bought some nice new potatoes, purple sprouting broccoli, soda bread and smoked mackeral (just got to persuade DCs to eat it now). Any other ideas?

Mediterranean tart. Shop bought pastry just folded over at the edges and brushed with egg, put roasted veg and cheese of your choice in the middle (goats works well or goats and mozzarella/ricotta) and some fresh herbs or drizzle with pesto and bake for 15-20 mins. Lovely!!

There's a great salad in the Leon book called 'Magic Mackerel', featuring (you guessed it) Mackerel, and, weirdly, broccoli. I rebranded mackerel as 'bacon fish' to make my kids eat it. They fell for it, and are now converts.

Asparagus. Nothing says spring like asparagus. Grilled, possibly with some spring onions. Added to a leafy salad, or to goats cheese, or with some grilled fish.

Last night we had a boneless shoulder of lamb stuffed with couscous, sultanas, flaked almonds, cumin and cinnamon, with buttered spring greens. It was a nice springy Sunday roast.

I love Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries for this - just this morning I flipped to March and got a load of ideas that felt like springtime. I think I'll be making cheese and herb puddings, grilled lamb chops, chicken with cream and spices and loads of purple sprouting broccoli over the next few weeks.

Whimsical, I love the idea of baconfish, that's brilliant! Sausage and mash tonight (yawn) but grocery shop tomorrow so will put my springtime hat on. Not a fan of Nigel slater on telly but might have a look at one of his books. I got a bit cross with his leftover series in which his 'leftovers' were quite clearly nothing like.