Seasonal foods in February

Here’s the shortish list of UK foods that are in season during February, plus a few special imports. As ever, if there’s a glut of anything then you should be able to haggle a bit and buy it cheaper at the market. Failing that, it might turn up in the supermarkets’ special offers sections.

So, without further ado, here’s what’s best (and mostly local) in February. I’ll be picking up my wicker shopping basket and wandering out to purchase some of the following…

Fruit: apples from store, early forced rhubarb.

Vegetables: Asian greens, cabbage (white and green), celeriac, chicory, endive, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, parsnips, salsify and scorzonera, spring onions, the last sprouts and sprout tops, swedes, turnips.

Fish and shellfish: brown crab, clams, cockles, cod, dab, hake, halibut, lemon sole and other flat fish (plaice, sole), mackerel, mussels, rock oyster, scallops, wild salmon.

Meat, poultry and game:  hare.

Cheeses: Blue Cheshire, Cotherstone, Farmhouse Cheddar, Stilton, Blue Wensleydale. Bleu des Causses, Brie de Meaux, Tomme Arlesienne.

This week’s menu at Bistro Golightly will probably include chilli crab cakes with stir-fried greens, a leek and blue cheese bake, and some kind of casserole with kale on the side.

What are you going to cook?