Smoked haddock with potatoes, spinach, cream and thyme

Most good fishmongers and supermarket fish counters sell naturally smoked fish, which is pale yellow in colour. Avoid anything bright yellow, as this will have been dyed and likely dipped in a smoke-flavoured cure rather than smoked.

If you have any leftovers, thin down with a little stock next day for a chowder-like lunch.

Serves 4

• 500g new potatoes (skin on)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 leeks, trimmed and cut into 1cm slices 
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 200g spinach (tougher stalks removed and roughly chopped if using large-leaf spinach)
• 400g MSC-certified smoked haddock fillets (or any sustainably caught white fish, smoked), pin-boned and skinned
• 400ml double cream
• small glass of dry white wine
• 50g mature cheddar, grated
• 20g pumpkin seeds
• pinch of paprika
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 220C/ 200C fan/gas 7. Put the potatoes in an ovenproof pan or roasting tray. Trickle over the extra virgin olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are just softened.

2 Take the pan out of the oven and use the back of a fork to gently break each potato. Add the leeks and thyme, stir and roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Now add the spinach and return to the oven for a couple of minutes until it is just wilted.

3 Meanwhile, cut the fish into 2cm cubes. Remove the pan from the oven and add the smoked haddock, cream and white wine. Stir together and return to the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the fish is cooked.

4 Remove the pan again and increase the oven setting to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Sprinkle over the grated cheese, the pumpkin seeds and a pinch of paprika. Return to the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve at once.

Swaps

Replace the smoked fish with chestnut mushrooms for a vegetarian version.

Asparagus with spinach and roasted garlic butter

This is a lovely way to enjoy British asparagus during its all-too-short season, from around the end of April until late June. I’ll happily eat it as a side or for lunch or supper, with a slab of sourdough to mop up the delicious garlicky butter.

Serves 4

• 2 bunches of asparagus
• 200g spinach (tougher stalks removed and roughly chopped if using large-leaf spinach)
• bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
• 1 lemon, halved
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the roasted garlic butter

• 1 garlic bulb
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 150g unsalted butter, softened

1 First, prepare the garlic butter. Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/gas 4. Put the garlic bulb in the centre of a piece of foil large enough to wrap and enclose it. Trickle over the extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap in the foil and cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove and leave to cool.

2 Put the butter in a bowl, unwrap the garlic bulb and cut a small slice off the bottom. Gently squeeze the garlic bulb downwards from the top and the soft garlic should just slip out of the papery skin. Add it to the butter, season and mix to combine.

3 Turn the oven up to 230C/ 220C fan/gas 8. Bend each asparagus spear until it breaks naturally at its sweet spot. (Don’t discard the tougher ends – keep them to use in soups and slow-cooked dishes.)

4 Lay the asparagus in a roasting tray, dot the garlic butter all over and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 3 minutes. Take out the tray and stir through the spinach and chopped parsley. Return to the oven for 2 minutes until the spinach is fully wilted. Remove.

6 Squeeze over the juice of the halved lemon and toss together. Taste to check the seasoning and adjust as necessary, then serve, making sure you use every scrap of the delicious butter.

Swaps

Broccoli (either purple sprouting or Tenderstem) and fennel wedges work well in place of the asparagus – simply adjust the cooking time as needed.

Rolled lamb breast with herbs, lemon and tomatoes

An underrated cut, lamb breast comes from the same part of the animal as belly pork, which we already know and love. Cooked well, this is tasty and tender, so do give it a go. You will need breasts from a decent-sized animal – consider asking your butcher for hogget (lamb aged between one and two years) as the breasts will be larger and meatier.

Serves 4

• 2 lamb or hogget breasts (about 500g each)
• 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped into 1cm cubes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• small bunch of parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 3 sprigs of mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 Around 30 minutes before cooking, take the lamb out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 230C/220C fan/gas 8. Put the tomatoes, tomato purée, lemon zest and juice, garlic and herbs in a bowl, mix together well and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2 Lay the lamb breasts out flat, flesh side up. Smear the tomato mixture evenly all over the surface of each to cover generously. Starting from a short side, roll up each breast, tying securely with butcher’s string every 2cm-3cm, then season the whole of each roll with salt and pepper.

3 Place in a roasting tray and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or until deep golden brown on the outside. Add a glass of water to the tray and lower the oven to 170C/ 150C fan/gas 3. Roast the lamb for a further 2 hours until the meat is tender.

4 Now turn the oven back up to 230C/220C fan/gas 8 for 15 minutes to crisp the lamb.

5 Take the tray from the oven and leave the lamb to rest in a warm place for 5-10 minutes, then remove the string and carve each roll into slices.

Swaps

For something a little different, try stuffing the lamb with a mixture of black pudding and gooseberries.

Onions stuffed with roast squash, hazelnuts and chilli

This is simple to put together, yet looks stunning – and the stuffing is full of sweet, spicy, earthy flavours.

Serves 4

• 8 medium white onions
• glass of white wine
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 400g squash, such as crown prince or butternut, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper 

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Remove the outermost layer, as well as the papery skin, from the onions and put in a small roasting tray, root side down. Add the wine and thyme sprigs, cover the tray with foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour, or until soft.

2 Put the squash in a small roasting dish with the hazelnuts, chilli, citrus zest, 2 tbsp of olive oil and seasoning. 

Toss to mix and roast for 20-30 minutes until softened. Take the dish from the oven, add the citrus juice and mash with a fork. Check and adjust the seasoning as needed.

3 Once the onions are cooked, take them out and turn the oven up to 230C/220C fan/gas 8. When the onions are cool enough to handle, carefully cut away the root end and gently tease out the centres, leaving the two outer layers intact; set the prised-out onion flesh aside. 

Gently push the squash mixture into the onion cavities so they look like whole onions again.

4 Return the stuffed onions to the roasting tray, brush with the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the filling is piping hot and the onions gain a little colour.

5 Meanwhile, blitz the soft onion flesh in a jug blender, then trickle in the sunflower oil slowly to make a creamy sauce. Check and adjust the seasoning and reheat if necessary.

6 Serve the stuffed onions with the sauce poured over.

Three-root dauphinoise

I’ve hardly met anyone who dislikes dauphinoise potatoes – they’re the ultimate indulgent accompaniment. Replacing some of the spuds with a mix of root veg, you get a sweeter, more complex but equally delicious end result. You can vary the roots you choose – just keep in the potatoes. The cheese topping isn’t traditional but it makes it extra delicious.

Serves 6

• 2 large floury potatoes, such as maris piper or king edward
• 1 swede
• 1 small or ½ medium celeriac
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
• 250ml double cream
• 200g mature cheddar cheese, grated (optional)
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/gas 4. Peel and finely slice the potatoes, swede and celeriac. Layer the slices in a roasting dish, alternating the veg and sprinkling with the garlic, thyme and salt and pepper as you go (be generous with the seasoning). Carefully pour over the cream.

2 Cover the creamy veg with a piece of baking paper; this will protect the cream from the heat of the oven and stop it from splitting. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

3 Remove the paper and cook for another 20-30 minutes, until all the veg are tender. To test, take the dish out of the oven and pierce the root mix in the centre right through with a knife; it shouldn’t meet any resistance.

4 Turn the oven up to 220C/ 200C fan/gas 7. If using cheese, scatter it evenly over the veg.

5 Put the dish on a high shelf in the oven. Once the cheese (if you’re using it) is melted, bubbling and nicely browned, remove the dish from the oven and serve.

Swaps

For a less indulgent dish, replace the cream with veg or chicken stock to make a casserole-like boulangère.

Rhubarb with star anise and orange

Rhubarb is my favourite ‘fruit’, not least because the appearance of the first forced supplies signals the end of winter. The delicate champagne-pink stalks are fantastic, although I’m equally keen on the less colourful but more flavourful outdoor rhubarb that comes into season later. 

You just need to adapt the way you treat this fruit through the seasons – the rule of thumb being the later in the year, the longer you’ll need to cook it and the sharper it will be, so you may need extra sweetness.

Serves 4

• 500g trimmed rhubarb (about 6 stalks)
• 2 oranges
• 4 star anise
• 40g fresh ginger, sliced
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 tbsp honey (or golden caster sugar for a vegan option)
• 100ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• crème fraîche, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut the rhubarb into 5cm lengths and arrange in a roasting tray. Finely grate the zest from the oranges and add to the tray then cut the fruit into quarters and add these too. 

Scatter over the star anise, ginger and rosemary. Trickle over the honey (or caster sugar), mix together well and then pour on the orange juice.

2 Put in the oven and cook for 7-15 minutes, depending on the type of rhubarb. To check, squeeze a piece – it should just break under a little pressure.

3 Remove from the oven and pick out the star anise and rosemary stalk.

4 Serve the rhubarb hot, at room temperature or chilled, with crème fraîche – and make sure you eat all of the flesh from the baked oranges.

Swaps 

Try substituting half of the rhubarb with quartered and cored eating apples.

Now buy the book

Recipes are from River Cottage Great Roasts by Gelf Alderson with photographs by Emma Lee (Bloomsbury, £20). To order a copy for £17 until 7 April, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over £25.