Succulent seasonal food is by far the best

Eating food as it comes into season ensures a varied, interesting diet, supports the local economy and reduces the carbon footprint of the food we buy. In season at the moment are radishes, spinach, spring onions, rocket and lacy green, peppery watercress from Pickering, which is absolutely gorgeous in salads or made into a velvety green soup.

Jersey Royals are in the shops just in time to be cooked with their perfect companion herb – mint – which unfurls its soft, green leaves in gardens this month. Just drop a few leaves into the cooking water to scent the delicate skins of this esteemed early potato.

The sea around the east coast starts to warm at this time of the year and provides better breeding conditions for many species of seafood, including crab which is in season now until October. White crab meat, picked from the claws, rivals lobster for flavour and succulence and is beautiful served simply in a sandwich, a salad or as in the recipe below a classic quiche with chilli and saffron.

Sea trout is one of our best fish and available in good fishmongers until the beginning July. It is a wild fish with coral pink, soft flesh, more like salmon than trout and is delicious served with lemon and anchovy butter.

Simply beat a teaspoon each of chopped anchovies and capers into 50g butter and blend in a little lemon juice and zest. Wrap the butter in cling film, shape into a sausage and chill. Grill sea trout fillets under a hot grill for a few minutes. Serve with a slice of the butter melting over each fillet. A serving of baked fennel would suit this dish extremely well.

The ultimate watercress soup

Serves 4

20g butter, 6 spring onions, roughly chopped, 1 medium leek, 1 small potato sliced, 300ml water, 2 bunches of watercress, 100g spinach, 500ml vegetable stock, salt and pepper, freshly ground nutmeg, to taste

This recipe combines three of the best green vegetables in season – watercress, spinach and spring onions. The spinach and watercress are cooked separately and for a shorter time to preserve their colour and flavour.

Sweat the spring onions, leek and potato in half of the butter for two minutes. Add the water and simmer vegetables gently for 10 minutes until tender. In another saucepan sweat the watercress and spinach in the remaining butter until wilted. Combine watercress and spinach with the other vegetables and their cooking water, add stock and puree until smooth. Season and add more stock if required. Grate a little nutmeg into the soup just before serving.

Whitby crab tart with saffron and chilli

Serves 4

Pastry case: 100g plain flour, ¼ tsp salt, 65g slightly salted butter, chilled and cut into 1cm cubes, 3-4 tbsp ice-cold water

Filling: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 400g can plum tomatoes, 1 bay leaf, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp crushed dried chilli, salt and pepper, 250ml double cream, ½ tsp saffron, 1 egg and 2 egg yolks, 100g white crab meat

This tart is divine. The pastry needs to form a thin, crisp shell to encase the smooth, fragrant fresh crab filling. Crabs breed extremely well off the coast of Whitby so look out for them at your local fishmonger.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Sieve the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and blitz until the mixture resembles finely milled breadcrumbs.

Transfer to a cool bowl. Sprinkle water over the mixture and draw it together with a palette knife. Using cold hands, continue to press the mixture together to form a ball. Lightly flour a cool work surface, flatten the pastry and roll to a very thin sheet.

Line a 20cm, loose-bottomed metal flan ring with the pastry, prick the bottom gently with the tines of a fork, line with foil and fill with baking beans. Chill for 15 minutes and then bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and baking beans.

Sweat the garlic in oil until soft. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano and chilli and continue to cook until they form a thick paste. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread the tomato paste over the base of the pastry tart.

Mix a little cream with the saffron and warm slightly and allow it to infuse for five minutes. Add the remaining cream, egg, egg yolks and mix well.

Stir in the crab meat and pour into the pastry case. Place on a metal baking tray and cook for 40 minutes or until set and golden brown.

Rhubarb and strawberry compote with almond and ginger biscuits

Serves 4-6

500g young, pink rhubarb, chopped, 250g strawberries, hulled and halved, 80g sugar, 2 tbsp elderflower cordial, 2tbsp water

Almond and ginger biscuits: 2 egg whites, 100g icing sugar, 250g flaked almonds, 20g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated or 1 tsp ground ginger

The tail end of the rhubarb season coincides with the arrival of the first UK strawberries and combined they taste delicious.

Place the rhubarb, strawberries sugar, elderflower cordial and water in a pan. Bring to a simmer and poach on a low heat until the fruit is soft. Taste and add more sugar if you need to.

Preheat the oven to 150C/Gas mark 2. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and brush lightly with vegetable oil. Place the egg whites, icing sugar and ginger in a large bowl and mix well. Stir in the flaked almonds.

Using a dessertspoon, place spoonfuls of the mixture on the baking trays. Flatten and leave a gap of about 2cm between each.

Place the baking tray in the oven and cook for 12 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and remove with a palette knife.

These biscuits are best eaten on the day they are made.