May

Asparagus
Often considered to be a delicacy, with its straight spears and compact tip, asparagus is an attractive elegant-looking vegetable with a wonderfully subtle flavour. Choose firm, fresh-looking stalks.

How to use
Asparagus is usually served cooked, but can be served hot or cold. It can be served as an accompanying vegetable to light summer meals such as poached fish or grilled chicken. Add cooked asparagus to rice or pasta salads, pasta sauces, quiches or risottos. Hot asparagus can also be served as a simple but flavoursome starter with plenty of warm crusty bread and hollandaise sauce, melted butter or a classic vinaigrette dressing made from olive oil, lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt for dipping.

How to prepare
Wash each stalk and snap or cut off the end if it is woody or tough. Trim the stalks to roughly the same length to ensure even cooking and tie in bunches of 6-8 stems.

How to cook
Asparagus can be boiled or steamed, for best results keep the tips away from direct heat as they cook faster. The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness and freshness of the stalks. To boil, place the bundles upright in a pan of boiling water to come three-quarters of the way up the stalks, cook for 3-8 minutes or until tender. To steam, place the bundles upright in a steamer, cook for 3-8 minutes or until tender.

How to store
Keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Peppers
Brightly coloured and sweet flavoured, peppers (also known as bell peppers) are a versatile vegetable that are eaten both raw and cooked and are used in many different cuisines including Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Spanish, Italian and French. A choice of different colours are available all peppers are originally green, and as they ripen and sweeten they turn red, orange or yellow. Peppers are sometimes skinned before using this can help to enhance their sweet flavour. When buying look for firm textured, bright and shiny peppers, and bear in mind that orange, red and yellow varieties have a sweeter flavour than green peppers. Avoid bruised, wrinkled or blemished peppers as they will be past their best.

How to use
Peppers add a delicious crunch and a splash of colour to a variety of dishes. Raw peppers are a popular ingredient in salads and dips. They can also be added to quiches, pizzas, pasta sauces, stir-fries, paella, pies, casseroles and vegetable dishes such as ratatouille. Peppers can also be stuffed with a savoury filling such as a minced meat mixture or vegetarian risotto, baked and served hot or filled with pâté or a soft cheese mixture and served cold.

How to prepare
To chop peppers, cut in half and remove the seeds and bitter white pith, wash and dry then cut into slices or chunks. To prepare peppers for stuffing, slice off the top with the stalk and using a small, sharp knife cut out all the white pith and scrape out all the seeds, rinse thoroughly with cold water and stuff as required. To skin peppers, slice them in half lengthways and remove the seeds and pith. Preheat a grill to high and place the pepper halves under the grill until the skin starts to blacken, place in a plastic bag for 5-10 minutes and the skin should peel off easily.

How to cook
Peppers can be fried or steamed. To fry, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and add prepared pepper chunks or slices, fry for 5-8 minutes until the pepper is just starting to soften. To steam whole peppers, place in a steamer for 12-15 minutes or until tender, use sliced in salads, sauces or casseroles.

How to store
Keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Kale
Kale is an attractive looking member of the cabbage family. With its dark green or red frilly leaves and distinctive cabbage-like taste it is a popular alternative to cabbage, spring greens or spinach. Look for small bunches of kale with crisp, fresh-looking leaves.

How to use
Kale is served cooked. It can be served finely chopped or as a purée for a side dish or included in soups and sauces or the classic dishes, bubble and squeak and champ. Kale complements a wide variety of food and its flavour profile means that it also works well with stronger dishes such as game or with spicy dishes. It can also be used in Indian dishes such as Kale Dhal.

How to prepare
Cut the stalks off the frilly leaves and wash the leaves in cold water.

How to cook
Kale can be steamed, stir fried or boiled. To steam, place the prepared leaves in a steamer and cook for 3-5 minutes or until just wilted. To boil, place the leaves in a pan with 2 tbsp water, cook, covered for 2-3 minutes or until just wilted. Kale absorbs a lot of liquid during cooking and should be drained thoroughly after cooking. Drain in a sieve and use a metal spoon to press out as much liquid as possible before serving.

How to store
Keep refrigerated after purchase.

Flat Beans
Also known as helda beans, flat beans are similar to the well-known runner bean. They are flat, stringless green beans with a smooth skin.

How to use
Flat beans are served cooked as an accompaniment to a variety of main courses including fish, chicken, pork and lamb. To serve, toss in butter and freshly ground black pepper or flavoured olive oil.

How to prepare
Wash and top and tail the beans and chop into into even-sized pieces or slice into ribbons before cooking.

How to cook
Flat beans can be boiled or steamed. To boil, bring a pan of water to the boil, add the prepared beans and cook for 5 10 minutes or until just tender but still crisp (do not overcook as they will turn an unattractive khaki colour and go soggy). To steam, place the beans in a steamer and cook for 8-12 minutes or until just tender but still crisp.

How to store
Keep refrigerated after purchase.

Peas
Frozen peas are convenient and one of the most popular vegetables, but the flavour of fresh peas really is superior. They have a sweet taste, crisp texture and vivid bright green colour. When buying fresh peas in the pod, 1 kg of pods will give 350-450g of peas. Choose bright green, firm, young pods with a little air-space left between the individual peas. Avoid discoloured or wrinkled pods, overfull pods may contain hard, tough peas so avoid these too. Peas should be eaten as fresh as possible for the very best flavour.

How to use
Peas can be eaten raw or cooked. Fresh peas can be included in salads or used as a garnish for dishes containing cooked peas eg soups or pasta sauces. Cooked peas can be served simply with butter as an accompaniment to fish or chicken dishes or included in soups, purées or sauces.

How to prepare
Shell the peas by pressing your thumb and forefinger into the top of the pod and push the peas out with your thumb. Discard any that are discoloured or blemished. Wash in cold water and use as soon as possible.

How to cook
Peas can be boiled or steamed. To boil, bring a pan of water to the boil, add the peas and cook for 2-3 minutes, until just cooked. To steam, place in a steamer and cook for 3-5 minutes. Serve with butter and chopped fresh herbs such as basil, chives or mint.

How to store
Keep fresh peas in the pod, and keep refrigerated after purchase.

Galangal
A close relation of root ginger, galangal is a popular flavouring ingredient in south east Asian recipes. It has a similar knobbly appearance and flavour to fresh ginger although it is more pungent and spicier. When buying, choose a fresh-looking root with unblemished skin.

How to use
Galangal can be included in curries and stir-fries where a spicy, ginger flavour is required. It is particularly popular in chicken and fish dishes and can be pounded with lemon grass, garlic and chilli to make curry paste.

How to prepare
Galangal is prepared in the same way as root ginger, it needs to be peeled and then finely sliced, chopped or grated before cooking.

How to cook
Galangal is usually stir-fried with other ingredients such as onion, garlic and chillies. To fry, heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.

How to store
Keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Aubergine
This attractive-looking dark, glossy purple vegetable is often thought to be native to the Mediterranean but in fact it was originally from Asia. Also known as the eggplant, aubergines have a ‘meaty’ texture and a very subtle, but delicious earthy flavour. Aubergines have the ability to absorb other flavours and are often cooked with a selection of aromatic spices and onions. They are a particularly popular ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cookery. When buying, look for plump, heavy aubergines with a shiny, unblemished skin.

How to use
Aubergines are always eaten cooked. They can be diced or sliced and included in a variety of hearty dishes such moussaka, ratatouille, roasted vegetables, curries and dips. Aubergines can also be stuffed or sliced and grilled or served as fritters. Flavours that combine particularly well with aubergines include garlic, tomatoes, peppers, cumin, coriander and cinnamon.

How to prepare
Wash and top and tail, then slice, dice or split horizontally if stuffing. Salting aubergines isn't essential (in the past it was necessary to remove any bitter juices, but modern varieties are not usually bitter) but it can prevent them absorbing too much oil in recipes where they are fried. If you choose to salt them, place the prepared aubergine in a colander, sprinkle salt evenly over the cut surfaces and leave for about 30 minutes. Rinse under cold running water and pat dry with kitchen towel before cooking.

How to cook
Aubergines can be fried or baked. To fry aubergine slices, coat them in flour, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the slices, cook stirring often until browned and tender. To bake halved aubergines, preheat the oven to 190ºC, gas mark 5, top with a tomato sauce or slices of tomato and mozzarella cheese and bake for 40-45 minutes or until tender.

How to store
Keep refrigerated after purchase.

Acorn squash
A small, round, heavily ridged winter squash, which usually has a dark shiny green skin. Orange-skinned acorn squash can also be found but they are not so widely available. Acorn squash flesh is a distinctive bright orange colour and it has a deliciously rich, sweet chestnut flavour. Each squash is an ideal size for one person when stuffed and baked. Buy squash that feel heavy for their size and have hard, thick skin.

How to use
Acorn squash can be baked whole and filled with a variety of tasty savoury fillings including cooked rice and chopped peppers, diced cooked chicken or ham in a cheese sauce or goat's cheese mixed with pine nuts and pesto. Cooked acorn squash can be included in soups, stews, pasta sauces and stuffings.

How to prepare
To bake, wash thoroughly and prick with a fork. To cook chopped acorn squash, wash and peel, halve and scoop out the seeds and any fibrous pulp with a spoon, then chop into even-sized chunks.

How to cook
Acorn squash are delicious baked. To bake, preheat the oven to 190ºC, gas mark 5, place the whole squash in an ovenproof dish and cook for 40-50 minutes or until tender. To stuff, slice off the top of the squash before cooking, scoop out the seeds and pulp and fill with your chosen filling, cook as before.

How to store
Keep acorn squash in a cool, dry place for up to 1 month.