Best of March meal plan

As we see the green shoots of daffodils and snowdrops, lighter evenings and sunnier days, March marks the end of winter and the beginning of joyful spring. It's a fantastic month for seasonal produce, with verdant vegetables and foraging favourites making their first appearances of the year.

Food editor Ailsa Burt wrote these spring recipes to celebrate the very best of March. Hyper-seasonal wild garlic is popular among foodies and grows in abundance in woodland, particularly around water. It's also available from farmers’ markets or in veg boxes. Spring greens are the first cabbages of the year and these gorgeous green ribbons work well stirred through soups, stews and stir-fries. Asparagus is a beloved delicacy for good reason, while cauliflower and spinach are hugely versatile and packed with nutrients.

Ailsa’s recipes showcase these beautiful spring vegetables in inventive dinner recipes that can be served during the week. The spiral wild garlic borek uses ready-made filo pastry and can be made in advance and frozen – it looks super impressive but is simple to assemble. The chicken traybake, pepped with punchy salsa verde, is simple to prep before the oven does the work. The cauliflower with orzo and spinach pizza show how simple storecupboard ingredients can be used to great effect, while the asparagus panzanella was made to be eaten outdoors – fingers crossed for good weather!

The plan is designed to offer variation across the week while using overlapping basic ingredients to keep shopping lists trim and food waste to a minimum. There’s no excuse for midweek dinner fatigue when you’re armed with these amazing ingredients and five easy recipes to make with them.

To keep things simple, use the in-app shopping list to add ingredients from each recipe, then check the My Good Food tab for one clear, organised list before you shop.