Tomos Parry’s mussels with leeks, cider and sobrasada butter

March has always held a very special place in my heart, born and raised in Wales as I was. This month has a particular rhythm, beginning with Saint David’s Day on the first, when the fields begin to wake from winter and daffodils bloom. It’s not quite the season of wild garlic yet, but you can feel it approaching – the green shoots are waiting under the soil, soon to bring that punchy freshness to our kitchens.

Over the past few months my recipes have been focused on root vegetables: carrots, parsnips and beetroots, paired occasionally with vibrant citrus from Italy and Spain or the sharp rhubarb from Yorkshire. Now, vegetables are pushing above ground again. Purple sprouting broccoli, kale, early leeks and tender spring shoots are beginning to appear, and all are welcome on my menus. The seas are still cold, producing incredible shellfish. Mussels, oysters and early season fish are at their peak – firm, briny and full of flavour.

Cook all these ingredients simply, to let the natural taste shine. The dishes here – one celebrating purple sprouting broccoli with a rich yoghurt sauce, and another showcasing mussels with Mallorcan sobrasada butter, a combination we serve at Mountain – both highlight the beauty of seasonal produce and the subtle depth that fire, fat and seasoning can bring.

Chefs know that cooking in March is about balance, using the last of winter’s hearty ingredients while welcoming the first hints of spring’s brightness. The dishes that I’ve put together here hopefully reflect that balance. They work beautifully over fire, as we cook at Mountain and Brat, but are also entirely achievable in a home kitchen. It’s all about celebrating the good things we have now, with a nod to the exciting flavours yet to come.

Serves 2-3. Ready in 1 hour.

This is a version of a dish we cook at Brat at Climpson’s Arch. It’s a versatile dish (almost any green vegetable can be used) but broccoli is now coming into season. At the restaurant we would char the vegetables above the fire, but they can be cooked in a pan. The key is to get a lovely colour on them, for a bitter and sweet flavour which works well with the rich dairy sauce, lifted by vinegar and the texture of roasted almonds.

broccoli 2 large heads (or use purple sprouting if available)
olive oil
sea salt
whole almonds, skins on 40g
thyme 2 sprigs
extra virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil sherry vinegar 1 tbsp
dried chilli a pinch

For the smoked garlic yoghurt:
garlic 1 whole bulb
full-fat Greek yoghurt 200g
tahini 1 tbsp
lemon juice a squeeze
olive oil a little
salt

For the garlic yoghurt, preheat your oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Place the garlic bulb (top sliced just to expose the cloves) into a small piece of foil. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt. Place into the oven (or directly on the embers of the fire, if you’re cooking with a grill) and cook until soft, blackened on the outside, sweet and collapsing within – about 35-45 minutes. Let it cool, then squeeze the cloves into a bowl.

Mash the garlic to a paste. Fold into the yoghurt with the tahini, lemon juice and a little olive oil to loosen. Season with salt to taste. Ideally it should be savoury, smoky and slightly acidic.

Trim the broccoli into large florets and split thick stems lengthways. Toss with olive oil and salt just before cooking.

Cook the broccoli in a cast-iron pot on a high heat (or over very hot coals if using a grill). Let the broccoli take on a deep char – almost black at the edges – before turning. It should be smoky outside, firm but yielding inside.

Roughly chop the almonds. Toast them slowly in olive oil until golden and fragrant. Season lightly with salt and thyme.

Spoon the smoked garlic yoghurt on to a warm plate. Pile the grilled broccoli on top. Scatter with toasted almonds, olive oil, sherry vinegar and chilli pepper.

Serves 2-3. Ready in 15 minutes.

I grew up eating mussels from the Anglesey shores, so this dish really celebrates the simplicity of cooking this lovely shellfish. Here, I’ve added the distinctive, delicious Mallorcan sobrasada, which is a raw and cured, spreadable sausage flavoured with paprika. This dish brings together salty mussels, sweet leeks and smokey paprika pork fat.

unsalted butter 40gsobrasada 40golive oilmedium leeks 2 washed well, sliced into thick roundssaltgarlic 2 cloves, crushedfresh mussels 1kg, scrubbed and debeardeddry cider 150mlparsley a handful, roughly choppedblack pepperlemon 1 (optional, to taste)bread to serve

In a small pan over very low heat, melt the butter with the sobrasada until smooth and combined. Keep warm.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a wide pan. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat until soft and lightly caramelised. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant.

Tip the mussels into the pan with the leeks. Turn the heat up, pour in the cider, and cover. Steam hard for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice, until the mussels just open.

Remove from heat. Spoon the warm sobrasada butter over the mussels, swirling the pan so it emulsifies with the cooking liquor. Add the parsley and a grind of black pepper, to taste. Have a taste – a few drops of lemon juice can brighten the dish if needed.

Serve straight into warm bowls. Spoon the leeks and cooking liquor over the mussels generously. I suggest some bread to go with this – perfect for dragging through the buttery, paprika juices.