Well, I think it has, although it’s taken its time about it! My poor freesias and grape hyacinths have struggled bravely into bloom after being alternately battered by gales and drenched by downpours, so it must be spring, but it does seem to have been a long winter – or maybe I’m just tired of being muffled up in woollies.

I think broad beans are among the first harbingers of spring, and for weeks I’d been watching a field near us full of ful slowly growing taller and taller and hoping that someone would soon start picking them, and at last they did.

Fresh artichokes are about now and, together with some beans, marrows and baby potatoes, they make a nice and easy one-pot rabbit dinner.

I was going to call it an Easter bunny one-pot but I’m a week too late for that! As I don’t get on very well with fresh artichokes, I used a jar of artichoke hearts instead.

Spring used to mean strawberries as well as beans, but I’m beginning to doubt whether strawberries actually have a season as they’ve been around for ages already.

I first bought some at the beginning of February which were nice but not quite ripe enough. I think they are really at their juicy best at the end of April, just in time for the Mġarr festival on April 19, from 10am to 5pm.

Linzertorte is a posh Austrian jam tart made with almond pastry and usually raspberry jam, but I came across a filling made with fresh strawberries and an orange instead, which I decided to try.

It’s a bit of a production to make but really worth the effort, and both the strawberry filling and almond pastry can be made ahead.

Served with whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream, it makes a delicious, but very sweet, dessert.

Then there’s something a bit more homely: rice pudding, strawberries and jelly.

I used to have an American recipe called cranberry cardinals, but that got lost along the way somewhere, so now I use strawberries instead.

Creamy rice pudding is cooled, then topped with strawberries set in jelly.

I used to fiddle about making a purée and setting it with gelatine, then I was in a rush one day and used a bought jelly which was just as good. I think the name originally referred to the red hats and capes cardinals wear over their vestments.

Slightly irreverent, but these are so good that I’m sure they (the cardinals) won’t mind and would probably enjoy them, too.

Rabbit with spring vegetables

(Serves 6)

1 large rabbit, jointed
Seasoned flour for dusting
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
500ml chicken stock
6 fresh thyme sprigs
500g baby potatoes, scrubbed and halved
1kg broad beans, shelled
4 small zucchini, trimmed and sliced
Small jar artichoke hearts, drained
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Roll the pieces of rabbit in seasoned flour and shake off the excess. Heat the oil in a large frying pan with a lid and brown the rabbit, then transfer it to a plate.

Add the onion to the pan and fry until starting to soften. Stir in the mustard, return the rabbit to the pan, pour over the stock and tuck in the thyme. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently for an hour.

Remove and discard the thyme sprigs, add the potatoes and beans and cook for 15 more minutes, then stir in the zucchini and artichokes and cook for five minutes more.

Stir in the parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve on warm plates. It only really needs some crusty bread for mopping up the juices.

Strawberry linzertorte

(Serves 6)

1 large orange, peel and pith removed
500g strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
Juice of 1 large lemon
350g sugar
150g plain flour
¼ tsp each ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
100g castor sugar
100g ground almonds
120g unsalted butter
2 egg yolks and one egg white

Divide the orange into segments, discarding any seeds, chop the flesh and put it into a large pan with the strawberries and lemon juice. Stir in the sugar, bring to the boil and let it bubble until it’s thick, stirring frequently. It will take about an hour, then let it get cold.

Sift the flour and spices into a bowl, stir in the sugar and ground almonds and mix them together, then rub in the butter. Beat the egg yolks, stir them into the almond mixture and mix until you have a soft dough. Turn it out on to a floured surface, knead lightly, then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C and grease a 23-centimetre, loose-bottomed flan tin. Knead the dough lightly, cut off and reserve one-third and pat and press the rest over the bottom and sides of the tin, then return both the tin and the reserved pastry to the fridge for another half-hour.

Spread the strawberry filling into the tart tin. Roll out the reserved pastry on a flour-dusted sheet of greaseproof paper and cut it into one-centimetre strips. Using a palette knife to help as they are fragile, lay the strips on the tart to form a lattice, then chill the tart for half an hour.

Brush the pastry strips with the lightly-beaten egg white and sprinkle them with a little extra castor sugar, then bake for 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to 180˚C and continue cooking for 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and browned.

Cool the tart, then carefully remove it from the tin. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream.

Strawberry cardinals

Rice pudding and jelly – loved by everyone from 9 to 90.

(Serves 6)

60g short-grain rice
750ml milk
1½ tbsp sugar, or to taste
1 tsp vanilla essence
120ml cream
1 large egg white
1 strawberry-flavoured jelly
500g strawberries
Extra whipped cream to decorate

Rinse the rice and put it in a pan. Pour in the milk, stir, bring to the boil, then lower the heat until the milk is barely simmering.

Partially cover and cook very gently, stirring frequently, for about 45 minutes until the rice has disintegrated and the mixture is very thick and creamy, adding a little extra milk if necessary.

Stir in the sugar and vanilla essence, tip the rice into a large bowl and allow it to cool slightly.

Cover with cling film and chill until cold.

Whip the cream until it stands in soft peaks and beat the egg white until stiff.

The cold rice will have set quite firmly in the fridge, so beat with a fork to break it up.

Fold in first the whipped cream, then the egg white. Divide among six glasses and chill again.

Make up the jelly, using only half the required amount of water. Wash the strawberries, put six to one side, then hull and slice the rest and divide them between the glasses.

When the jelly is on the point of setting, spoon it over the strawberries and chill until set.

Top with a splodge of whipped cream and a whole strawberry, then serve with some amaretti or cantuccini.

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