MAY MARKET UPDATE

Even though most things are closed during the COVID-19 quarantine, one of the great silver linings has been that my local farmers market and fruit stall has stayed open. Sure you have to line up for a while and the ambiance isn't quite the same but there is something that just feels so normal about popping down to the market to get some produce.

Portobello road on a Saturday morning in normal times is something to behold - tourists shuffle up and down holding those twisty potato sticks while locals dodge around them with arms piled with flowers and produce. Dogs bark and babies cry and the market stall holders try to lure you in to buy whatever is on offer that day. It is mayhem. Things look a little different right now but it still has a nice bustly 2m apart kind of feel to it.

With spring well and truly underway now, we are starting to see lots of leafy vegetables and colourful fruit coming through. Strawberries are AMAZING, so sweet and juicy and I'm hoping the good times will just keep coming with those. Grapefruits are great in a cocktail or in my spiked lemonade (https://www.tablefor8.org/post/spiked-rosemary-lemonade). I'm putting some swiss chard and spinach into a quiche today but you could do anything - gnocchi, spanakopita, poached eggs or a green shakshuka. You could take some of the asparagus that is still in season this month and make a spring salad (https://www.tablefor8.org/post/asparagus-and-pea-spring-salad) or use some of the abundant new potatoes to make a mean potato salad for a bbq.

Something else that I'm starting to see everywhere here in the UK is elderflower. It's blooming on lots of hedges right now and I'm fighting the urge to do a late night stealth mission to pick some and make some cordial. Stay tuned.

Here's what's in season this month in the UK:

Strawberries

Rhubarb

Asparagus

Broadbeans

Artichokes

New potatoes

Spinach

Swiss Chard

Grapefruit

Let me know what you've been making with these this month.