Whether you’re planning a family dinner gathered around the table, or a picnic in the garden with a close friend, we have some delicious springtime recipe ideas to make it truly special.
A salad is great for this time of year – it can’t go cold and can be served in one large serving bowl on the table for everyone to help themselves.
Carrot & Feta Salad
With cumin and honey dressing, a quick and easy spring lunchtime salad, that’s packed with flavour.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 to 3 bunches of heirloom carrots
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons runny honey
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- A pinch of chilli flakes, to taste – optional
- 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
- 100g Feta Cheese, crumbled
Cumin & honey dressing:
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons runny honey
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons of curly leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
Method:
- Heat the oven to 180ºC, 350ºF, Gas Mark 4 and prep a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Wash and trim the carrots and cut them in half lengthways. Place them into a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, honey, ground cumin, salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Place on the baking tray and roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, tossing occasionally until the carrots are cooked and golden.
- To make the dressing, squeeze the lemon juice into a small bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together until combined.
- Empty the cooked carrots into a large bowl and mix with half of the dressing. Make sure you give it a good stir. Set to one side.
- Assemble on a Denby serving platter. Place the carrots on first then top with the crumbled feta cheese. Drizzle over the remaining dressing and enjoy!
Spring Risotto
Ingredients:
- 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
- 125g asparagus tips, trimmed
- 100g fine green beans, trimmed
- 150g sugar snap peas or mangetout
- 100g fresh or frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 25g butter 2 onions, finely diced
- 300g carnaroli risotto rice
- A small glass of white wine
- A good handful of fresh parsley and chopped mint
- 50g parmesan, to serve
- Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
Method:
- Prepare a litre of vegetable or chicken stock before you start.
- In a Denby saucepan, bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the mangetout or sugar snap peas, fine beans and simmer for 1 minute. Add the asparagus and peas and continue to cook for a further couple of minutes.
- Refresh the vegetables in a bowl of iced water and set to one side.
- Reheat the stock if you prefer and keep it simmering gently in the pan.
- Heat the olive oil and 1/2 the butter in a large frying pan on a low heat. Add finely diced onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened, but not browned.
- Increase the heat to medium and stir in the rice. Cook for a couple of minutes until the grains become transluscent then add a glass of white wine and allow to simmer for a little longer.
- Once the wine has been absorbed start to add in the hot stock, one ladle at a time and stir gently until the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat over the next 15 minutes adding more stock when required. Check the rice to see if it’s nearly cooked.
- Stir in the vegetables, fresh parsley and mint and cook for a couple more minutes. Add more stock if required to loosen the risotto. The rice will be cooked with a creamy appearance when stirred.
- Remove from the heat, add the remaining butter and season to taste.
- Serve in Denby pasta bowls with a scattering of herbs and shaved parmesan.
Asparagus, Pea & Goat’s Cheese Tart
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
Herb oil:
- 1/4 cup (60ml) of olive oil
- 1 large bunch of flat leaf parsley
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- A pinch of salt to taste
Herb pastry:
- 1 pack ready made shortcrust pastry
- 50g parmesan, finely grated
- 2 tablespoons of parsley oil
Filling:
- 1 pack of asparagus, cut in half lengthways
- 100g of fresh peas
- 100g goat’s cheese, cut into rounds and halved
- 50g parmesan, finely grated
- 250ml double cream
- 2 eggs
- Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
Method:
- Plunge parsley into a large pan of boiling water for 15 seconds. Remove and plunge immediately into a bowl of cold water filled with ice cubes. Drain, squeeze and dry extremely well in a salad spinner or by patting on paper towel. Finely chop, then place with the garlic and salt into a pestle and mortar, or food processor. Grind for a couple of minutes. Pour the oil over the parsley mixture, mix well to form a loose oil. Add a little more salt if necessary.
- Take your ready made pastry out of the fridge about 30 mins before you need it.
- Heat the oven to 180ºC, 350ºF, Gas Mark 4 and prep the Denby straight round tray with greaseproof paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out your pastry and combine with the parmesan and parsley oil until it’s big enough to line a Denby straight round tray.
- Place the rolled out pastry in your round tray and prick the bottom with a fork.
- Line the pastry with greaseproof paper, fill with baking beans and bake for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Remove the beans and cook for a further 5 minutes, until the pastry is cooked through and golden.
- Place the asparagus in a criss cross pattern into the pastry base, fill with the peas and dot with the pieces of goat’s cheese.
- Mix the cream, eggs and parmesan together and season with salt and pepper. Pour the cream mixture into the filled tart shell and cook for 40-50 minutes or until the cream mixture has set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Serve with a good drizzle of herb oil and serve with a fresh spring salad. Enjoy!
Orange and Poppy Seed Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 250g plain flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 200g golden caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 oranges, juice of
- 4 oranges, zest of
- 50g poppy seeds
Method:
- Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
- Grease your loaf tin and line with baking paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, either by hand or using an electric mixer.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well.
- Pour in the flour and baking powder, followed by the orange juice,zest and poppy seeds. Ensure everything is thoroughly combined.
- Bake for 50 – 60 mins until the top is golden and the cake is springy to the touch.
- Let the cake cool completely before decorating on a Denby platter. We used orange butter cream, candied orange slices and edible flowers.
Check out more recipes from Denby here: https://www.denbypottery.com/cooking-and-baking
