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RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING REBECCA WOOLLARD STYLING DAVINA PERKINS

PHOTOGRAPHS KATE WHITAKER

Twice-baked crab and chive soufflés with quick-pickled samphire, p26

ILLUSTRATIONS ROSIE RAMSDEN

It’s an exciting time to be in the kitchen: spring is in the air and it brings with it a wealth of cookery inspiration. Seasonal ingredients take on a whole new intensity this month, transforming any recipe they’re used in. Chickens seem plumper thanks to grazing on fresh grass, which nourishes their meat and eggs with extra goodness. Shellfish are enjoying a last hurrah before the breeding season, and green shoots are popping up everywhere – watercress is more peppery, soft herbs are more fragrant. To show off the recipes on the following pages, we commissioned food writer and artist Rosie Ramsden to create some beautiful watercolours as a backdrop. REBECCA WOOLLARD, FOOD EDITOR

Twice-baked crab and chive soufflés with quick-pickled samphire

SERVES 6. HANDS-ON TIME 40 MIN, OVEN

TIME 30 MIN, PLUS QUICK-PICKLING

MAKE AHEAD

This recipe is ideal for making in advance, as the second bake is brief. Follow the recipe to the end of step 7 up to 24 hours in advance, then cover and chill. Remove the soufflés from the fridge 30 minutes before baking again (step 8). Make the quick pickle up to 24 hours ahead and keep in the fridge; drain just before serving.

FOOD TEAM’S TIP

Cider vinegar’s appley flavour works well with crab, but you could use white or red wine vinegar instead.

• 40g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

• 250ml whole milk

• 190ml double cream

• 1 onion, chopped into wedges

• 45g plain flour

• ½ tsp English mustard powder

• Scant ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

• 100g brown crabmeat

• 150g white crabmeat, flaked

• 4 medium free-range eggs, separated

• 15g fresh chives, snipped

• Zest 1 lemon

• 3 tbsp grated parmesan

FOR THE QUICK-PICKLED SAMPHIRE

• 100g samphire, from large supermarkets and fishmongers

• 3 banana shallots, finely sliced into rings

• 175ml cider vinegar (see tips)

• 125g caster sugar

YOU’LL ALSO NEED...

• 6 x 175ml metal pudding basins or ramekins

1 Make the quick-pickled samphire: put all the ingredients into a non-metallic, wide container (to maximise surface area). Sprinkle with sea salt, then toss everything together and set aside for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours (cover and chill if you’re leaving it for longer than an hour; see Make Ahead).

2 For the soufflés, generously butter 6 x 175ml metal pudding basins or ramekins. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Put the milk, 40ml of the cream and the onion in a saucepan and heat gently until the liquid is steaming. Set aside to infuse.