Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Heading to New York City this summer? Seek out Prospect Park in Brooklyn: a masterpiece of landscape architecture at the green heart of NYC's largest borough.

Photographer and stylist, Julia Gartland, decided to hold an informal, pot luck picnic in Prospect Park for July's The Simple Things.

And what a location it is. According to Adrian Benepe, "Olmsted and Vaux designed Central Park, learned from their mistakes, and then designed Prospect Park." Indeed, this 585-acre oasis is an ambitious feat of design, packed with attractions such as the Long Meadow, a 90-acre meadow; Prospect Park Zoo; The Boathouse; Brooklyn's only lake, covering 60 acres; and the Prospect Park Bandshell, which hosts free outdoor concerts in the summertime.

Over ten million visits each year prove the Prospect Park has something for everyone, locals and tourists, young and old, from skating to birding to pedal boating to picnicking on the Long Meadow on beautiful days. The Park also boasts a stunning variety of natural and geological features, such as Brooklyn’s only forest, rolling meadows and shaded hillsides.

Find out more about Prospect Park, and read an extract from Prospect Park: Olmsted & Vaux's Brooklyn Masterpiece by David P. Colley (cover pictured).

Turn to page 26 of July's The Simple Things for beautiful photographs and recipes to inspire your own portable feast - on sale 27 June 2014.

Recipe: Lemon verbena sherbet

In June's The Simple Things, Lia Leendertz picks early-season crops and herbs for that first taste of summer. Turn to page 44 for fresh and tasty home-grown recipes, including this one for lemon verbena sherbet.

If you don't have a dedicated space for growing veggies, you can still pack your food full of summer flavours by growing a few pots of herbs. If you haven't discovered lemon verbena, then make procuring a plant your new resolution. The leaves taste like sherbet and make the best herb tea.

Or try making lemon verbena sherbet: 'A couple of years ago I came across a recipe for making sherbet, and I have been strangely addicted to it ever since. Hand your children a little egg cup full of sherbet with a handful of strawberries to dip in - and they'll be delighted', says Lia Leendertz.

The fizziness comes from the tongue-tingling combination of citric acid and bicarbonate of soda: the moisture on your tongue sets of the reaction, releasing fizzing carbon dioxide.

Lemon verbena sherbet (makes about 70g)

You will need:

Pared peel of 4 lemons About 8 lemon verbena stems, hung up to dry for a few days 60g icing sugar 1/4 tsp citric acid (from chemists) 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1. Roast lemon peel on a baking tray in a low oven for 30 minutes until crispy.

2. Strip the leaves from the stems (they must also be crispy) and whizz peel and leaves together in a blender.

3. Sift sugar, citric acid and bicarb into a bowl and add the ground leaf and peel. Serve with sliced fruit.

Not got June’s The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

More recipes from The Simple Things.

Go on a cheese picnic

Which cheeses would a cheese expert choose to have in a cheese-centric hamper? We find out how to compile the perfect cheese picnic.

If you want to make a picnic special but don't have time to start baking quiches and prepping salads, keep it simple and focus on the best bits, the cheese. All you need is a modest selection, some hunks of good bread and/or simple biscuits, a bottle of something cold and, voila, a faff-free feast.

We asked Hero Hirsh from artisan cheese supplier, Paxton and Whifield, for her word on the curd.

Montgomery Cheddar

A full-flavoured, firm cheddar. Every picnic needs one. Drink with: English pale ale or pear juice.

Camembert de Normandie

A soft cheese that ripens nicely in warm weather. Drink with: dry cider or apple juice.

Aged Gouda

Best aged for around 24 months with a sweet, nutty flavour, this has a creamy texture but is firm enough not to melt en route. Drink with: dry cider or apple juice.

Chaource

Triple cream cheese, very creamy but with a refreshing acidity. Drink with: bubbles - champagne or sparkling elderflower, ideally.

Cornish Blue

A firm blue cheese with a delicious sweetness that's harder than Stilton, so travels well. Drink with: apricot juice or a full-bodied white wine (such as a punchy chardonnay).

Not got June’s The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

Recipe ideas from The Simple Things.

Recipes: Five ways with strawberries

Strawberry season is upon us, and we're looking forward to getting out into the fields to pick-our-own. Meanwhile, these five strawberry recipes are summer on a plate.

Not just for pudding, these scarlet nuggets of sunshine can brighten up any plate from brunch to party nibbles.

Strawberry and brown sugar toasted brioche sandwiches (makes 4)

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F. Cover a roasting tray with foil and place 8 slices of brioche on the tray. Toast till golden brown on each side. Set aside to cool. Hull and quarter 400g strawberries into a bowl, add a heaped tsp of vanilla bean paste and 100g soft brown cane sugar and mix well. Sandwich the strawberry mixture between two slices of thinly buttered brioche.

Strawberry, parma ham and parmesan crostini (makes 8)

Hull and quarter 200g strawberries and set aside. Take 8 slices of sourdough and 8 slices of parma ham. Toast the bread and arrange the ham on top. Next come the strawberries, then sprinkle with parmesan shavings. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, before topping with basil leaves and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve straight away.

Strawberry, pomegranate, fennel and radish salad (serves 4)

Hull and dice 250g strawberries. Slice two heads of fennel very thinly with a mandoline or sharp knife. Finely slice 100g spring onions and 250g radishes. Mix cut fruit and veg and 100g pomegranate seeds with a handful of roughly chopped mint. Combine 50ml olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and 1tbsp pomegranate molasses and season. Dress the salad and top with crumbled feta.

Macerated berries with honey and mint (serves 4)

Hull and halve 500g strawberries lengthways into a large bowl and set aside. In a jug, pour 250ml cloudy apple juice and 75ml runny honey and mix well. Tear a handful of fresh mint leaves into pieces and add them to the marinade. Pour over the strawberries and coat the fruit gently, so you don't bruise it. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave somewhere cool (not the fridge) for an hour. Serve in individual bowls.

Strawberry, goat's cheese and black pepper tart (serves 4)

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Roll out a pack of shortcrust pastry then cut circles big enough to fit 4 mini tartlet tins. Blind bake for 20-30 minutes. Hull and halve 400g strawberries and mix in a bowl with 1tsp cracked black pepper. Chop a spring of rosemary needles and mix with the fruit. Spoon the filling into the pastry and top with a slice of soft goat's cheese. Pop back in the oven for 10 minutes.

Not got June’s The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

More recipes from The Simple Things.

Recipe: Elderflower champagne

Read our feature on ‘posh squash’ on page 35 of June’s The Simple Things? Get picking elderflowers before the season’s out, and use them to make this simple elderflower ‘champagne’ from blogger, Emma Bradshaw. With elderflowers in full bloom, it seems a waste not to use them in the kitchen. Have a go at this recipe from blogger Emma Bradshaw, who says: 'I've tried lots of different ways to make elderflower champagne, but this is my favourite most tried and tested method.'

You will need:

About 30 elderflower heads, in full bloom (pick on a sunny day away from the roadside, making sure you don't strip a tree of all its flowers!) 2kg natural sugar 4 litres hot water + 2 litres cold Juice and zest of four lemons 1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar A pinch of dried yeast (although you may not need this)

Method:

1. Put the hot water and sugar into a large container (a preserving pan or spotlessly clean bucket is good) and stir until the sugar dissolves, then top up with cold water to 6 litres. 2. Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently. 3. Cover with a clean muslin and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. Take a look at the brew at this point, and if it’s not becoming a little foamy and obviously beginning to ferment, add a pinch of yeast. 4. Leave the mixture to ferment, again covered with muslin, for a further four to five days. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into sterilised glass bottles. 5. Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for a further eight days before serving, chilled.

Makes around 20 bottles.

Recipe and images by Emma Bradshaw. Visit Emma's blog for more wild food recipes and outdoor adventures.

Not got June's The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

More recipes from The Simple Things.

Food from afar: Pintxos recipe

Pintxos are elegant bites from the Basque region. Try a recipe for Sun-dried Tomato, Goats Cheese, Pistachio & Balsamic Pintxos.

Pintxos - pronounced 'pinch-oss' - may have much in common with their Spanish relatives, tapas: bite-sized snacks consumed in bars with amigos until long after stuffy, old northern Europe has gone to bed. However, they differ in crucial ways.

One, the bread factor. In pintxos, it's used as a mattress for a variety of fresh toppings to recline upon.

Secondly, there are the toothpicks from which they get their name - 'pinto' meaning thorn or spike - which lock bread and topping together, and enable the waiter to tot up the bill at the end.

Try your hand at an easy pintxos recipe for Sun-dried Tomato, Goats Cheese, Pistachio & Balsamic Pintxos from Anneli Faiers and her Delicieux blog.

Turn to page 52 of June’s The Simple Things for the full feature (buy or download now).

More recipes from The Simple Things.

Homemade sweet recipes

Clear an afternoon, you're going on a confectionary adventure! We've found four homemade sweet recipes. 'Fruit pastilles aren't tricky to make,' says Annie Rigg, author of Sweet Things, whose recipe is featured in the June issue of The Simple Things (p112). 'All you need is a sugar thermometer, heavy based saucepan and an hour.'

If you've tried your hand at these already, you probably want to make more. Go Willy Wonka and turn your kitchen into a candy production line with our top picks for homemade sweets from around the web.

Red candy apple slices

Let's kid ourselves these aren't all bad, shall we? Recipe here.

Microwave salted caramels

Yes, you read that right - salted caramels you can make in the microwave. This could get dangerous... Recipe here.

Homemade sweet tarts

We love how cute these look all wrapped up and ready to go - recipe here.

Homemade marshmallows

Easy to make, apparently, and can be flavoured with anything that takes your fancy. Let's give it a go. Recipe here.

Turn to page 112 of June's The Simple Things for a homemade fruit pastille recipe (buy or download now).

The case for meat

At the close of National Vegetarian Week, biologist Colin Tudge argues the case for meat. Vegetarians and vegans say we should not eat meat. The agricultural industry, meanwhile, strives to produce as much as possible. The former claims that livestock farming is cruel and unsustainable. The industrialists say that by supplying more and more meat they are satisfying demand. The truth lies in between - but where?

Biological and historical evidence reveals us not as frustrated carnivores but as opportunist omnivores. We like meat, yet, as with other primates, a little goes a long way. But since World War II, meat has been marketed with all possible vigour. The real purpose of this was not to meet demand but remove the market ceiling on cereals. It is all too easy with industrial methods to produce a glut, and waste must be built into the system to keep prices up. Factory-raised livestock consumes 50 per cent of the world's cereal output and more than 90 per cent of soya output, and does the job perfectly. The same principle is applied to diamonds. Demand is not a measure of desire but of how much can be sold.

So where do we strike the balance between vegan austerity and industrial excess? Here we find huge serendipities. For if we kept just enough animals to clear up surpluses and made reasonable use of land that cannot easily be cultivated, we'd produce quite a few animals, though far fewer than now.

By farming sustainably, we would produce 'plenty of plants, not much meat and maximum variety' which is what nutritionists say we should eat. This nine-word adage, 'plenty of plants, not much meat and maximum variety' summarises the basic structure of the great cuisines: Indian, Chinese, Persian, Lebanese, Italian, Provencale, or indeed Polish or traditional American. All consist of huge piles of staples (rice, bread, potatoes, beans) with vegetables and meat used primarily for garnish and stock - and just the occasional feast, like the Christmas turkey.

Turn to page 96 of May's issue of The Simple Things for the full article - buy or download now.

Recipes from The Simple Things.

See our vegetarian Mediterranean feast for some meat-free meal ideas.

A midsummer night's feast: wine matches

Enjoy a laid-back celebration in the lingering dusk with super-chilled drinks and plenty of nibbles with our midsummer night's feast. This isn't a time to think about your five-a-day. Instead, make it a solstice to remember with decadently moreish savouries and summery sweet treats.

String up lanterns in a sheltered corner and lay on drinks and nibbles for an informal party for friends; young children will be thrilled at being out in the garden after dusk. Even if you don't quite make it through to the dawning of Midsummer's Day (24 June), you'll need breakfast to set you up for the longest day of the year.

Turn to page 26 of June's The Simple Things for a midsummer menu to remember, which includes the following recipes:

Gougeres

Spicy nougatine

Orange & yoghurt cake

Chocolate mousse

Babas au gin & tonic

Sweet chilli bruffins

Croissant pain-perdu

Making the menu? You'll need a few wine suggestions to go with the food.

Gougères with a side of Red Wine - Naudin Tiercin Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2011

Made from the Pinot Noir grape, this wine has just a subtle hint of spice, which picks up on the gentle kick of the chilli and paprika, yet the juicy berry fruit flavours in the wine give it a light and fresh quality that won’t overpower the wonderful cheesy bites!

Roast Garlic Bread - Coulaudin Bussy Chablis Premier Cru 2010

This Premier Cru Chablis sublimely combines a fresh, lemony character, with a strong backbone of acidity which perfectly cuts through the intensity of the garlic and makes for a very moreish combination.

Orange and Yoghurt Cakes - Bach Extrisimo Semi Seco Cava NV

The slight sweetness to this Cava makes it the perfect partner for these little delights. The gentle effervescence reflects the light, crumbly texture of the crumb and the delicate almond and citrussy flavours of the wine highlight the wonderful zesty orange of the cakes.

Five ways with mint: recipes

The only herb that's also an adjective, mint deserves more than a cursory dip in your Pimm's. So don't leave it to run rampage in the garden, or wilt in a glass on the kitchen worktop - show it a good time with our recipes.

Five mint recipes from The Simple Things:

Chicken, preserved lemon and herb salad

Prepare 250g couscous with 400ml chicken stock, cover and leave for 5 minutes before fluffing up with a fork. Mix 3 roasted, torn chicken breasts, 2 chopped preserved lemons, 50g toasted flaked almonds, 1 tsp crushed cumin seeds, a packet of lightly crushed fresh coriander and a packet of roughly chopped fresh mint. Whisk 2 tbsp juice from the lemons with 2 tbsp oil and season, toss into salad and serve with couscous.

Fish cakes

Cook 700g King Edward potatoes until tender. Meanwhile, poach 300g salmon and 2 eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes; leave to cool. Flake salmon; chop eggs. Mash potato and stir in salmon, eggs, a bunch of sliced spring onions, 10g dill, 1 tbsp chopped mint. Season. Mould into 8 cakes and chill for 30 minutes. Shallow-fry fish cakes until golden. Serve with a dip made from 200ml creme fraiche, 2 tbsp garlic mayonnaise and 10g dill.

Mint and cranberry smoothie

Place 600ml light cranberry juice, 100g fat-free Greek yoghurt, 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint and 1 tbsp clear honey in a large jug and blend with a hand blender. Pour into 2 tall glasses. Add a handful of fresh or frozen raspberries for even more zing.

Minty summer pudding

Cook 800g fresh berries, 25g caster sugar and 2 tbsp water for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving juice; cool. Stir in most of a packet of fresh mint. Dip 6 slices of white, crustless bread in juice (one side only), sprinkle with leftover mint and lay 5 in a bowl. Keep leftover juice. Fill bowl with fruit, top with final bread slice and fold edges over. Place a saucer on top then something heavy. Chill overnight. Turn out and serve with remaining juice and cream.

Thyme and mint pears with raspberry sauce

Combine 150g caster sugar and 500ml water and bring to the boil. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Trim bases of 4 ripe, peeled pears so they stand upright. Add them to syrup, along with 10g fresh thyme and 3 sprigs mint, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pears, discard herbs and reduce syrup by half (about 8 minutes). Add 300g raspberries and juice of half a lemon. Cook 1-2 minutes, blend, add thyme and serve with pears.

Taken from May's issue of The Simple Things - buy or download now

More recipes from The Simple Things.

Image: Alice Hendy Photography

World Baking Day: cake recipes

It's World Baking Day, and we're celebrating with our favourite cake recipes. Bake away the weekend with a homemade cake and a cuppa. Today happens to be World Baking Day and, although we need no excuse to get our pinnies on, we're taking full advantage with a range of cake recipes from The Simple Things.

Pictured above: Rhubarb cake

Sharp rhubarb, sweet orange and a hint of warming spice – this is a cake to curl up with on a rainy afternoon.

Or how about this Harvest cake, packed with courgettes, fig and pistachios?

We love raspberries, and this Pistachio raspberry loaf is delicious as well as beautiful.

Like unusual flavour combinations? Try this Rosemary olive oil cake.

It's nearly nectarine season, and this cake combines the fragrant fruit with honey.

Find more cake recipes from The Simple Things

Buy May's issue of The Simple Things, or download a free trial digital issue now.

Recipe: Piquant vegetable salad, and a vegetarian Mediterranean menu

Rustle up a weekend menu for family and friends - that just so happens to be vegetarian - then get the garden games out. Long, light days full of the promise of early summer and bank holiday weekends that top and tail the month - isn't May just the best? This is no time for slaving over the stove, though. What you need is food that's high in flavour and low on fuss to allow maximum time for chatting and quaffing. Fresh and colourful dishes with a Mediterranean influence will keep any post-lunch slump at bay, should the afternoon call for an impromptu game of ping-pong or boules.

Opt for an informal table with terracotta plant pots holding the cutlery and fresh herbs replacing flowers. Vintage crockery finishes the rustic, playful feel, while a freshly mixed mojito delivers a touch of holiday decadence. Double bank holidays - we'll drink to that.

Turn to page 26 of May's The Simple Things for recipes to recreate the full menu below (buy or download now):

Panzanella

Falafel with flatbreads

Hummus, Tahini sauce and Harissa

Piquant vegetable salad

French lemon tart with berry coulis

Mojitos

Piquant vegetable salad

A shredded veggie salad adds a pop of flavour and a burst of colour (serves 4 as a side salad)

Ingredients:

Half a cauliflower, finely sliced 2 carrots, peeled and grated 1 beetroot, peeled and grated

For the dressing:

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp olive oil Salt and black pepper, to taste 1 tsp agave syrup

Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl.

Combine all dressing ingredients, adding to the salad before serving.

For more information about National Vegetarian Week, including tips on how to go meat-free, visit the website.

Sponsored post: Creative cooking by the campfire

Warming, comforting and incredibly satisfying, sausages may be the ultimate campfire food. Read on for a simple recipe.

For summer road trips, family barbecues or camping in the garden with your little ones this is a particularly sumptuous way to cook them, and it looks fantastic. If you’re making this at home, try serving it with a pile of creamy mash.

Ingredients

600g cumberland sausage ring 1 tsp oil 1 onion, finely sliced 2 tsp wholegrain mustard 1 tbsp honey 150ml cider 100ml Yeo Valley Single Cream

Method

1. Insert 2 wooden skewers in a cross shape into the sausage to pin it into a spiral. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan, large enough to take the sausage wheel. 2. Cook the sausage on a medium-low heat for 10 mins until browned, then turn it over and cook for a further 5 mins. 3. Lift the sausage out, spread the onions into the pan, stir into the pan juices then replace the sausage on top. Continue to cook gently for a further 5-10 mins until the onions are soft and the sausage is cooked through. 4. Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside. Spoon off any excess fat then stir the mustard and honey into the pan. Pour in the cider and bubble for 2 mins before stirring in the cream and seasoning to taste. 5. Divide the sausage into 4 and pour over the cider sauce.

Yoghurt for breakfast

Love yoghurt? You can't beat it for a breakfast treat

Turn to page 110 of May's The Simple Things for a recipe to make your own thick and creamy yoghurt. But how do you eat yours?

Classic Greek

Top with dark forest honey for a true taste of Greece. Add a handful of almonds for added crunch.

Bircher

Use your homemade yoghurt as a base for a Bircher breakfast - oats soaked overnight with yoghurt, juice, and grated apple.

Berries and granola

A bowlful of yoghurt topped with a handful of granola and fresh berries is a great way to start the day, and keeps you full 'til lunchtime.

Winter fruit

Yoghurt is a good option, even in winter. No berries? No worries - try tinned prunes or preserved apricots instead.

How do you eat yours? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook.

Food from afar: Guatemalan Tortillas (and where to eat them)

Enjoy fluffy, smoky, delicious Guatemalan tortillas, a favourite of the Mayans - and us. In the land of the Mayans, where the slap-slap of wet dough between palms is as familiar a sound as honking horns and howler monkeys, tortillas have been a cornerstone of the country's cuisine for 3500 years, accompanying almost every meal, often in lieu of cutlery.

Dry, mature maize kernels are boiled over a fire in a bowl of alkaline water. This produces a soupy substance known as nixtamal - pronounced neesh-tamal - which is drained, then ground into dough at the communal mill.

Women and children then wet their hands, grab a handful of dough and clap their hands together to shape a perfectly round, even tortilla. After cooking them on the comal - a traditional, wood-fired Mayan-style stove - the tortillas recline in a blanket-lined basket ready to be devoured.

Want to try them for yourself? We can't find a Guatemalan restaurant in the UK (let us know if we're wrong!), but try these top Latin American options instead:

Wahaca

Devised by Thomasina Miers, Masterchef winner, Wahaca serves authentic Mexican street food. Try the 'Little Softies' tacos to satisfy your bread urges.

Ceviche

As well as being a staple fish dish in South America, Ceviche is a Peruvian kitchen in London's Soho. Winner of the Sunday Times Cookbook of the Year in 2013, Ceviche offers its namesake dish in half a dozen forms.

Buen Ayre

Head to Hackney's Broadway market for a taste of Argentina in the form of Buen Ayre.  Expect warm service, fine wines, and some of the best steak you'll find in the capital.

Bodega

Bodega in Birmingham offers dishes from Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Cuba and Argentina, as well as vegan and gluten-free options. Try the Cordero Seco - a Peruvian lamb stew braised in Negra Modelo beer.

Lucha Libre

With branches in both Liverpool and Manchester, this Mexican street food restaurant is a firm favourite in the North West. Classic light options and more substantial dishes sit alongside an impressive tequila menu.

Know of any we've missed? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook.

Image by Rudy Giron, available to purchase here.

Edible flowers: recipe inspiration

Team Simple Things cannot resist anything flowery and perfumed, and our love of edible flowers knows no bounds. Here are three recipes we can't wait to try. White peach lavender soda (above) sounds like the most delightfully delicious way to quench your thirst on a sunny summer's day. Thought up by Emma Christensen, this is one fragrant fancy we're desperate to try. Emma also recommends trying this with a shot of gin.

For the recipe, head to Emma's blog.

Violets are a particularly perfumed flower, and make for a delicate dessert in the form of these violet and lemon eclairs. Head over to Twigg Studios blog for the full recipe.

Raspberries and rose sound like a match made in heaven, coming together in this delightful dessert by Pick Yin. Although the thought of baking a soufflé might be a little intimidating, Pick claims this recipe to be foolproof. Let's give it a go!

For more edible flower goodness, turn to page 38 of May's The Simple Things (buy it here), where Lia Leendertz prettifies salads, desserts and even drinks with edible flowers. Or have a try at making Babousa, a Middle Eastern rose-scented cake.

Recipe: nettle and wild garlic soup

Never eaten stinging nettles? Bethan from Decorator's Notebook wants to persuade you with this recipe for nettle and wild garlic soup. YOU WILL NEED 2 large handfuls freshly picked nettles 1 small bunch wild garlic (about 12 leaves) 1 tablespoon butter 1 leek, washed and sliced 1 onion, peeled and chopped 3 potatoes, peeled and diced 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS Fill the sink with cold water and add a large tablespoon of salt. Wearing rubber gloves, add the nettles and wash thoroughly. Separately wash and thinly slice the wild garlic leaves. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion and leek. Cook gently until soft then add the potato and nutmeg. Cook for a further 5 minutes then pour in the stock. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potato is tender. Add a splash of water if it needs it. Next prepare the nettles. Put a large saucepan of water on the hob and bring to the boil. Get a bowl of iced water ready. Blanch the nettles for 2 minutes in the boiling water before removing with a slotted spoon and plunging into the iced water. Drain and set aside. When the potato is cooked whizz the soup with a stick blender until smooth. Add all the nettles and most of the wild garlic, reserving a little to garnish. Blend for a couple of minutes more, then season to taste. Serve with crusty bread garnished with a swirl of natural yogurt, a pinch of nutmeg and a few strands of shredded wild garlic leaves.

Photographs and recipe: Bethan John for Decorator's Notebook

Styled with: Enamel milk pan and Reclaimed wood tray, both available online from the Decorator's Notebook shop

Recipe: Babousa

In this month's Seed to Stove, Lia Leendertz is prettifying salads, desserts and even drinks with edible flowers. Follow her instructions for crystallising rose petals (page 42), then use them to top Babousa, a Middle Eastern rosewater-scented cake.

Ingredients:

335g semolina 110g sugar 3tbsp desiccated coconut 2tsp baking powder 110g plain yoghurt 55g melted butter 115ml milk

Syrup ingredients:

375ml water 120g sugar 1 vanilla pod 2tbsp rosewater Pinch of saffron soaked in 2tbsp cold water

Method:

Mix semolina, sugar, desiccated coconut and baking powder together in a bowl then stir in the yoghurt, milk and melted butter.

Spread the mixture onto a greased baking tin 6x6in square and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

Deeply score into squares or diamonds before placing into the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, until the top is golden.

While it is baking make the syrup by putting all of the syrup ingredients into a saucepan and bringing to the boil.

Simmer for three minutes then remove from the heat.

When the cake is ready, remove it from the oven and pour the syrup all over it.

Leave to cool and to absorb all of the syrup.

Serve with thick yoghurt.

Recipe and video found here.

Food from afar: Bomboloni

Bomboloni: delightful to say, even more delightful to eat. And possibly even onomatopoeic, if you attempt to exclaim "bloomin' lovely!" while you're eating them! Doughnuts fulfil a basic human craving the world over and countless countries have their own spin on them - there's the French beignet, the Turkish tulumba and the Israeli sufganiya to name but a fraction. Bomboloni are the Tuscan contribution to the planet's exhaustive list of things to do with sweet, deep-fried dough and, dare we say, one of the best.

Read more about these delicious little mouthfuls of delight in April's issue of The Simple Things - buy now or look through.

And if you feel like making your own, this recipe looks tempting.

Recipe: Brioche hot cross buns

Get everyone's favourites on the table with our laid-back Easter brunch, featuring a new take on an old classic: brioche hot cross buns Not quite breakfast, not quite lunch, but elegantly supplanting both at once, brunch is about as efficient and fun as domestic catering gets.

Easter brunch is unbeatably relaxed and satisfying, but the best thing? It practically forces you to wake up late and do it in your PJs.

The brunch menu featured in the April issue of The Simple Things:

Spinach & bacon baked eggs

Smoked salmon caesar salad on toast

Hash browns

Custard tartlets

Brioche hot cross buns

Green smoothie

Brioche hot cross buns - makes 12

Ingredients:

375g plain flour 3 eggs 100g unsalted butter, melted 45g sugar 1 pinch salt 100ml milk, lukewarm 45g sultanas 1 tsp grated nutmeg 1 tsp grated cinnamon 1 packet (7g) dry yeast

For the glaze:

1 egg yolk 1 tbsp milk

For the icing:

100g icing sugar 1 tbsp water

Method:

1. In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, sugar and spices. Sprinkle yeast over milk and allow it to prove for 5-10 minutes. Pour milk, yeast, melted butter and eggs into flour and stir well.

2. Transfer the dough onto a work surface and knead for 10 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with cling film for an hour or until it doubles in size. Pinch back the dough on a work surface and lightly knead for a minute. Add the sultanas.

3. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. Place balls of dough 1cm apart from each other on a baking tray lined with baking paper and let them prove for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 190C (170C fan), 375F, gas 5. Just before baking, brush buns with egg yolk and milk mixture.

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until nicely golden. Remove from oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

5. Prepare icing by mixing sugar with water. The icing should have the consistency of a smooth paste. Spoon it into a piping bag or use a ziplock bag with a small hole cut in a corner. Pipe and draw a cross on top of each cooled bun. Allow icing to set before serving.

Turn to page 28 for the rest of the recipes.

Buy The Simple Things now, or have a look through the digital sampler for a taste of the April issue