In the first of a new series on seasonal food, York chef JAMES LOWE, owner of Villa Italia, looks at what's on the menu for March and provides some tempting recipes

Buying food in season means buying at the right time for the best-tasting produce. Seasons indicate when certain produce is readily available and likely to be at its natural peak.

Of course, pretty much any food is now available all year round in British supermarkets or at local markets. These days, though, a lot of fresh fruit and veg is imported from outside the UK. Let's face it, you can't beat the taste of home-grown produce bought in season.

Buying home-produced fruit, veg and meat supports the British farming industry. Buying from local sources such as farm shops and farmers' markets also helps sustain the rural economy. These smaller suppliers may have limited stocks and shorter seasons for their produce, but they often stock more unusual varieties.

So what's in season in March? It's basically a good month for both vegetarians and seafood lovers. Some great tasting and quirky varieties of traditional fruit and veg are available over the next few weeks.

Look out for purple sprouting broccoli, available from February to April. This is a traditional English variety, with tender stems and small leafy purple heads. It's really delicious and much tastier than the large green broccoli florets that are now imported all year round.

Grown under cover, early rhubarb is one of the only fresh home-grown fruit available at the moment. Gardeners serving at stately homes in Yorkshire originated the tradition of forcing rhubarb into growth. Although the leaves are poisonous, the long, thin pink stems are delicious when sweetened and lightly stewed. Rhubarb can also be used for sorbets and ice cream.

If you are a seafood fan, pay your local fishmonger a visit this month for fresh produce sourced from European waters. Fish has often been frozen and stored, but now is the time to buy fresh Mediterranean sardines. Make sure the sardines you choose are fresh by looking underneath the gills - the flesh should be bright red, not brown. Fresh fish will also have bright eyes and should not be strong smelling.

They say mussels are in season when there's an 'r' in the month. March sees an abundance of large and juicy mussels collected from Scottish and Welsh waters. For freshness, make sure the mussels you buy have closed shells. If the shells are open, tap them and they should shut. This means that the mussels are still alive. Fresh lobster is also available this month. Again it's always better to buy live or cooked lobster as the freshness of dead, raw produce is always questionable.

Recipes for March:

Split Sardine Starter

(Serves 2)

Four fresh sardines, gutted

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Quarter of a bunch of sorrel

1 cup of breadcrumbs

1oz of butter

Lay the sardines on their side on a chopping board. With a sharp knife cut each in half from the tail along the line of the backbone and remove. Mix the garlic, butter and sorrel together and spread the mixture on to the flesh of the fish. Put the sardines on an oiled baking tray, skin side down. Grill under a high heat for two minutes or cook in a medium pre-heated oven (gas mark 6/200C) until the fish is firm. Spread the breadcrumbs over the top of the fish. Place under the grill or in the oven until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Serve with dressed salad leaves.

Purple Sprouting Linguini

(Serves 2)

250g purple sprouting broccoli spears

250g fresh linguini

1 large red onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

Place one tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan with the garlic and red onion and fry until soft. Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar and cover the pan with a lid. Continue cooking on a medium heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile cook the purple sprouting broccoli spears in a pan of boiling salted water for three minutes. Remove the broccoli from the pan, saving the cooking water, which will be purple coloured. Refresh the broccoli under cold water and chop into 1.5 inch chunks. Add the broccoli pieces to the onion mix and heat through. Bring the pan of water back to the boil and cook the linguini for three minutes - it will take on the purple colour. Toss the pasta into the vegetable mix, dress with olive oil and serve with grated Parmesan if desired.

- Seasonal food coming up in April: spring lamb, radishes, asparagus, watercress, curly kale.

- Villa Italia, 69 Micklegate, York. Tel: (01904) 670501

Updated: 14:37 Friday, February 28, 2003