February might seem bleak on the fruit and vegetable front but actually, there are lovely things in season now if you look out for them.

Blood oranges from Sicily and Spain, great for eating, juicing and sorbet. The first of the purple sprouting broccoli is appearing. Look out for locally grown, firm, fresh stems.

Some of my favourite fruit and vegetables in season now are purple sprouting broccoli and rhubarb. I love using these wonderful ingredients in my cooking and baking classes.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

The easiest (and most delicious) way to cook purple sprouting broccoli is to simply trim it and then plunge it into boiling salted water and cook until just tender, this will only take a few minutes.

Strain and serve with a liberal dousing of really good olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Rhubarb

You can find the lovely pale pink forced rhubarb from Yorkshire in the shops now and while aesthetically pleasing the more robust, local outdoor rhubarb is just as tasty and is fast coming up in the garden now.

Great for the classic crumble and rhubarb tart but also wonderful made into a delicious rhubarb ice cream or sorbet; rhubarb and ginger scones are also a favourite of mine, not to mention trifle.

Baking and Cooking Courses

At Wee Buns Cookery School we run a number of seasonal cooking and baking classes from Autumnal Baking classes to Easter Baking and Christmas Cooking Classes. Find out more on the classes section of the website.