May: Our recommendations on the menu this month

What we’ve been eating: Skrei cod, parsley mash, English asparagus

As you know, we love making the most of seasonal produce, and with the green light for asparagus season officially on go, what better for our spring menus than some lovely, fresh spring flavours to accompany it? We blanch ours quickly to ensure it’s still got that bite to it and pickle the tips.

The cod we slowly poach in clarified butter and we give our mashed potato a herby flavour by running some parsley purée through it. This also gives it a gorgeous green colour. We finish the dish with a sweet and slightly acidic parsley and pear sauce and a drizzle of parsley oil.

What we’ve been drinking: 2015 Rioja Blanco Gregorio Martínez 'Selección Mónica Martínez' 

Gregorio Martínez started to buy land for a vineyard in the Iregua Valley, between the villages of Nalda, Sorzano and Entrena, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Now managed by his descendants, head winemaker Ricardo Cantera joined the business in 2009.
 
This white Rioja has an intense and brilliant gold hue. The nose is powerful and intense with aromas of white flowers which then give way to notes of brioche and vanilla, stone fruit such as peaches and fruit salad. The mouth is full and dense, with great concentration and an acidity with gives it even greater length and a silky mouthfeel.