February recipes
How to make the most of the best winter ingredients, from delicate pears to comforting cauliflower and smoked haddock
Want to know what’s in season in February? Looking for February recipe ideas? Use the whole cauliflower, celeriac and all varieties of pears from your fruit and veg boxes or local greengrocer to make these seasonal dishes and bakes. We’ve included plenty of tips for how to shop for particular varieties, prepping guides and useful ideas to use up leftovers.
Pears
Any pears will work for these recipes but some of our favourites are Conference, Red Williams, Comice or Concorde. Make sure you use the fruit at the optimum stage of ripeness as they vary on flavour and texture.
Pear crumble
This is a classic crumble with a thick, crunchy top. Custard or ice cream are non-negotiable! If you’re cooking for adults, a splash of rum, whisky or brandy with the pears works beautifully. Make sure you use ripe pears in this recipe – underripe fruit will result in a less flavourful crumble.
Pick from more pear recipes, including brown butter pear cake and indulgent sherry poached pears with chocolate sauce.
Haddock
When shopping for smoked haddock, try to buy it un-dyed or naturally dyed, as this is often better quality fish. It will also prevent any dye leaching out and ruining the look of the risotto. It should have a natural smoked hue – the artificially dyed variety will be very yellow.
Try more smocked haddock recipes, including smoked haddock fishcakes and haddock curry.
Smoked haddock risotto
These may not seem like obvious bedfellows, but the subtle smokiness of the smoked haddock is uber comforting with the rice, stock and parmesan.
Celeriac
Celeriac is a variety of celery cultivated for its bulbous root. It has a mild celery-like flavour but is much deeper and nuttier, with a pleasing texture once cooked. Try to find it with healthy looking celery and leaves attached at the top – this is a good sign of its freshness.
Check out our favourite celeriac recipes, including celeriac soup and celeriac gratin.
Celeriac rostis with harissa yogurt
Top these seasonal hash browns with crispy fried eggs for a winning brunch.
Cauliflower
A good sign of a cauli’s freshness is its leaves. They should be green and not wilting, as well as the florets being bright white and unblemished. Don’t throw away the leaves or stem – they’re perfectly delicious to eat. Try cauliflower leaves in this vegan cauliflower carbonara.
Choose from our cauliflower ideas, from epic cauliflower cheese to cauliflower korma.
Cauliflower bhajis
A twist on the curry house classic, these crispy bhajis see cauliflower pieces coated in a spiced batter, deep-fried, then served with a lime and coriander yogurt dip.
Cauliflower and broccoli soup
Cosy, nourishing and packed with veg, this warming vegetarian soup recipe comes topped with golden-brown sourdough croutons.
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