Labour of the month: March

My Labour of the Month for PPPs in March is a ritual that for me marks the beginning of Spring and the season when I can walk out into the garden and harvest ingredients for lunch; and what's even nicer is that these ingredients reappear each year without any hard labour on my part.

Picking Hop Shoots

For a lunch-time omelette served with
a chive and bitter-cress side salad.

An established hop plant will send up
an abundant quantity of new shoots;
leave 5 or 6 strong shoots to grow up
the pole or support and snip off the others.

– don't waste them! they are as prized

as the first cut of English Asparagus;
the flavour of hop shoots isn't strong
but they have a slightly astringent bitterness
which is pleasantly refreshing.

Fresh green chives make pretty edging to
the vegetable beds – and there's more than
enough to use in the kitchen every day.

Here's a pesky little weed – Hairy Bitter-Cress,
pull it out before it fires its seeds all over the plot!
However it's not all bad, those young green leaves have
a great peppery kick to them, so they make a
lovely side salad to wake up the taste-buds.

Fry some sliced mushrooms;
add the washed hop-shoots to the pan
and cover until they wilt;
pour in lightly beaten eggs;
gently cook and stir until the egg sets.

Sprinkle with crumbled Wensleydale cheese,
season with ground mixed pepper and
finish off under a hot grill.

Wash the Bitter-Cress and chop the chives,
mingle them together.

When the top of the omelette is browned and bubbling
serve with the salad and some wholemeal bread.

Celia
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