AS THE winter finally begins to give up its grip to spring, the fresh seasonal foods also do a bit of a handover.

Those delicious British leeks will soon be off the menu, although foreign imports will be available until the start of the next home season, and one of the many British superfoods – watercress – is starting to come in.

So here are a couple of Easter recipes using these two fabulous British ingredients for delicious family meals.

Mushroom and Leek Pie has been created by Aimee Ryan for Wallflower Kitchen and comes from the Vegan Society and will be a comforting dish for anyone to eat.

Serves: 4

Cook time: 35 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

2 medium leeks, trimmed and sliced

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

500gm button mushrooms - sliced

1 tsp died mixed herbs

Salt and pepper

Sauce

1 tbsp dairy-free butter

2tbsp plain flour

350ml dairy-free milk

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 roll vegan puff pastry (or gluten-free if needed)

4 tbsp dairy-free milk for glazing

Method

1. Add olive oil to a large pan on a medium heat. Fry leeks and garlic for two minutes to soften.

2. Add mushrooms, herbs, salt and pepper and stir for a minute. Place the lid on top and cook for eight minutes.

3. Melt the dairy-free butter on a medium heat in a small pan. Add the flour and stir until combined. Slowly add milk a tablespoon at a time and whisk until smooth and thick. Stir in the nutmeg and season.

4. Combine cooked leeks and mushrooms with sauce and leave to get cold.

5. Ensure puff pastry is at room temperature and preheat oven to 200C.

6. Put filling into a pie dish and top with pastry, cutting off excess around the edges.

7. Crimp the edge using a fork and score a criss-cross pattern on the top with a sharp knife. Brush pastry with dairy-free milk.

8. Cook for 25 minutes until golden brown and serve.

Copyright: The Vegan Society, 2018.

For those who like a meaty meal, what could be better than a succulent roast shoulder of lamb? This recipe comes from watercress.co.uk and was created by development chef Keri Astill-Frew. It replaces mint sauce with a peppery watercress pesto and is served with delicious roasted vegetables Provençal.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

For the lamb

1 whole lamb shoulder, bone in

1 bulb garlic

10 sprigs rosemary

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the vegetables

4 sprigs thyme

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 red onions

1 aubergine

2 courgettes

2 beef tomatoes or 4 plum tomatoes

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 bunch basil

6 bay leaves

Olive oil

For the pesto:

65g watercress, roughly chopped

1 clove of garlic,

1 tbsp toasted pine nuts

50-75ml olive oil

50g finely grated Parmesan

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°C (or as high as it will go). Use a sharp knife to make deep incisions all over the lamb, then push a clove of garlic and sprig of rosemary into each one so that they are completely tucked inside the meat. Rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper.

2. Place the lamb on a large baking tray and cover tightly with foil, double wrapping if necessary. Put into the centre of the oven and turn the temperature down to 140°C. Cook for four hours before removing from the oven. Once the four hours is up, remove the lamb from the oven and check that the meat is falling of the bone, then replace the foil and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.

3. For the vegetables, finely slice the red onion and fry in olive oil until softened. Add the leaves from the thyme sprig, garlic, and salt and pepper then spread the mix on the bottom of a round roasting dish.

4. Slice the aubergine, courgette and tomatoes to around 1cm thick. Layer them upright around the edge of the roasting dish, seasoning well with salt and pepper as you go and tucking the thyme, bay leaves and basil in-between. Deseed the peppers and cut into quite large chunks. Pile them up in the middle, then drizzle everything generously with olive oil and season again with salt and pepper.

5. Place into the oven with the lamb and cook for around 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through and softened. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

6. For the pesto, place the watercress, garlic, parmesan and pine nuts in a food processor and puree. Drizzle in the olive oil, pulsing for a few seconds at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Pour into a bowl and season to taste.

7. Finally serve the rested lamb whole at the table alongside the dish of vegetables and a bowl of pesto for drizzling.