Pulses and stock cubes are forgotten and out come minty salad dressings and peppery vinaigrettes with a Mediterranean flavour, to go with crunchy green salads, adding balsamic, sherry and fruit vinegars which are now widely available in the shops.

April is also the month when things start to look up in farmers' markets and supermarkets, where the best of the season's produce will be on display.

By the time this month's recipes go to print Easter will be well and truly over, but that doesn't mean Easter treats are off the menu.

By now though, most of us will have had our fill of hot cross buns, so this month I am including a spicy tea bread, usually made for Easter, an easy rhubarb custard pie, two fresh and crunchy salads and, to highlight this month's recipes, as a change from the traditional spring lamb, we have a succulent roast pork recipe, which is an ideal choice for a traditional Sunday roast.

Do make sure you buy home-produced pork and support our local pig farmers, who are having a tough time with the high price of wheat threatening many farms in the Suffolk area.

CRUNCHY EGG SALAD
Serves 4.
Ingredients: 4 med. sized eggs, quartered. 50g new potatoes. Half quantity Basic Vinaigrette (see recipe below). 3 sticks of celery. 50g white radish. 1 bunch of dill. Dressing: 4 tbsp fromage frais. 2 tsp white wine vinegar. Dash of Worcester sauce, salt and pepper.
Method: Boil eggs for 10 mins. Drain rinse in cold water and peel off shells. Boil potatoes for 12-15 mins. until tender. Leave to cool slightly, then peel, slice and toss in Basic Vinaigrette. Slice celery and grate the radish. Toss vegetables together with potatoes and divide between 4 plates, arrange quartered eggs on top. Scatter with dill. Beat fromage frais with vinegar and Worcester sauce and season. Spoon over salad.

BASIC VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients: 3 tbsp sunflower oil. 1 tbsp white wine vinegar. 1 tsp Dijon mustard, ¼ tsp caster sugar, salt & pepper to taste. Method: Put all ingredients into a blender and mix until thoroughly blended. Or you can put ingredients into a screw-top jar and shake well before using. For variations add 2 finely chopped gherkins, 1 tsp finely chopped onion or 25g blue cheese crumbled.

CHICKEN AND GRAPEFRUIT SALAD

This can be served as a first course for 8, or a main course for 4.

Ingredients: 450g cooked chicken. 1 grapefruit. ½ cucumber. 25g chopped blanched almonds. Juice of ½ lemon. 4 tbsp mayonnaise. 1 tbsp parsley. Freshly ground black
pepper.
Method: Chop chicken and cover with lemon juice and black pepper. Remove rind and pith from grapefruit. Cut into small pieces. Peel and chop cucumber. Mix in almonds and mayonnaise. Decorate with chopped parsley and chill well.


LOIN OF PORK WITH PINEAPPLE & DATE STUFFING

Loin of pork is one of the best buys for roasting, although it does have to have added flavours to offset its rather bland taste. Ask your butcher to bone the joint for you to make it easier for stuffing, and if you like crackling, then have this removed too and scored.

To get a really crisp crackling put it into a separate dish from your joint, sprinkle it with salt and cook on the top shelf of your oven for about 30 minutes, finishing under the grill for a further 25 minutes.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients: 1¼ kg (2¼ lb) lean loin of pork, boned and rolled. Glaze: 1 tbsp lime marmalade blended with 1 tbsp pineapple juice. For stuffing: 110g fresh white breadcrumbs. 1 small can of pineapple in natural juice (finely chopped & juice reserved) 25g dates, chopped. 1 lime, rind and juice (½ reserved for glaze).

Method: Make stuffing by mixing breadcrumbs, pineapple, dates, lime rind and 4 tbsp reserved lime and pineapple juice to bind. At this stage you can either stuff the joint or shape stuffing into small balls.

Cook joint in preheated oven 180C, 350F, Gas Mk 4 for about 1½ -2 hours or until joint is cooked through and the juices run clear when tested with a skewer. Serve with vegetables ribbons: 4 carrots, peeled and cut into ribbons, 2 courgettes, top and tailed, and cut into ribbons, 1 small celeriac, peeled and cut into ribbons, 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt and black pepper.

Toss the vegetables in the oil, honey and lemon juice in a flat roasting tin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for about 1 hour. Add roast potatoes to serve.
This recipe came from my cookbook 'Step into my Kitchen through the Year'.

To complete this dish here is a recipe for the ever popular apple sauce:

Ingredients: 900g (2lb) cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced. 25g caster sugar. 1 tsp whole cloves. 25g butter. Method: Place apples in a large saucepan with the sugar and cloves. Bring to the boil then simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-15 mins. until the apples are tender and pulpy. Stir the butter into the apple mixture, then spoon into a warmed bowl and serve immediately with the cooked pork.

RHUBARB CUSTARD PIE
Serves 6.
Ingredients: Ready to roll shortcrust pastry. 700g rhubarb, cut into ½ inch pieces. 225g caster sugar. 3 tbsp plain flour. ½ tsp salt. 3 egg yolks. 3 tbsp orange juice concentrate. 1 tbsp Grand Marnier (optional). 2 tbsp butter, softened. 3 egg whites. ½ cup sugar.
Method: Roll out pastry and line a 10 inch deep pie plate or tin and set aside. Combine sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl. Add egg yolks, orange juice, Grand Marnier and butter and beat until smooth.

Stir in rhubarb, in another bowl beat egg whites to form soft peaks, then gradually add second quantity of sugar beating into stiff peaks. Gently fold this into rhubarb mixture and pour filling into pie shell. Bake in preheated oven 180C, 50F, Gas Mk 4 for 45-50 mins. until pastry and mixture are cooked through.


SPICY EASTER TEA BREAD

Ingredients: 225g self-raising flour. 1 tsp mixed spice. ½ tsp ground cinnamon. 75g butter. 75g caster sugar. 50g sultanas. 50g dates, chopped. 1 egg, beaten. 6 tbsp milk.
Method: Mix flour and spices together. Chop butter into pieces and cut roughly into flour with knife. Add sugar, sultanas, dates, egg and milk and mix to a soft consistency. Turn into a prepared tin and bake in preheated oven 190C, 375F, Gas Mk.5 for 40-45 mins. until skewer comes out clean. Cool on tray. Delicious sliced and spread with butter.

Next month sees us welcoming the arrival of asparagus, with recipes telling us that May is a month full of promise.