What to Cook in June: UK Seasonal Produce Guide

June is the most generous month in the British food calendar. The last of the asparagus overlaps with the arrival of broad beans and courgettes. New potatoes are at their best. Strawberries are abundant and affordable. If there is one month to eat seasonally in the UK, it is June.

Here is what is in season, what to look for, and how to cook it.

What is in season in the UK in June

• Vegetables:
• Asparagus — final weeks of the season (season ends mid-June)
• Broad beans — peak season, sweet and tender
• Courgettes — just starting, small and flavourful before the glut
• New potatoes — Jersey Royals at their best, other varieties coming through
• Peas — fresh or podded, nothing like frozen
• Watercress — excellent in June, peppery and robust
• Radishes — fast-growing, widely available
• Spring onions and salad leaves — abundant

• Fruit:
• Strawberries — British strawberries hit full season in June
• Elderflower — not a fruit but worth noting for cordials and desserts
• Gooseberries — tart, underused, excellent for puddings

Herbs: mint, chervil, tarragon all at their lush pre-summer peak.

What to look for when buying

Asparagus: tight tips, firm stems, no wrinkling. Buy from a greengrocer or farmers' market — supermarket asparagus often travelled further than the seasonal label suggests. If the cut end is dry and woody, it is not fresh.

Broad beans: the pods should be firm and bright green. Smaller pods tend to have sweeter, more tender beans. The inner skins on larger beans can be bitter — blanch briefly and pop them out for a smoother result.

New potatoes: small, waxy, should feel dense and have thin skins you can rub off with your thumb. Do not peel them. Cook in well-salted water from cold.

Strawberries: British field-grown strawberries are darker, smaller and far sweeter than year-round imported ones. At farmers' markets, they are often sold at a discount when slightly overripe — perfect for maceration or jam.

Five June meal ideas

1. 1.Asparagus with soft-boiled eggs and anchovy butter
2. 2.Blanch asparagus for 2 minutes, soft-boil eggs for 6 minutes, make a quick butter sauce with 2 anchovies melted in. The anchovy adds depth without tasting fishy. Serve with crusty bread. Fifteen minutes.

1. 1.Broad bean, mint and feta toast
2. 2.Pod and blanch broad beans 2 minutes, pop out of inner skins, crush roughly with a fork. Mix with chopped mint, olive oil, salt, squeeze of lemon. Pile onto toasted sourdough, crumble feta over the top. A green lunch that takes 10 minutes.

1. 1.New potato, watercress and smoked mackerel salad
2. 2.Boil new potatoes until just tender, cool slightly. Toss with watercress, flaked smoked mackerel, a grain mustard and crème fraîche dressing. Substantial enough as a main. No cooking beyond boiling the potatoes.

1. 1.Courgette, pea and lemon pasta
2. 2.Slice young courgettes thin, sauté in olive oil until golden at the edges. Add fresh peas in the last 2 minutes. Toss with pasta, pasta water, a knob of butter, lemon zest, parmesan. Ready in the time it takes to cook the pasta.

1. 1.Strawberry and cream with brown sugar
2. 2.The simplest June pudding. Hull strawberries, halve, macerate with a pinch of sugar for 20 minutes. Serve with double cream and a scraping of brown sugar. Nothing else needed.

Shopping this week

A June farmers' market visit built around these five meals requires: asparagus (1 bunch), broad beans (500g pods), new potatoes (500g), watercress (1 bag), courgettes (2-3 small), peas (250g podded or 150g shelled), strawberries (500g), smoked mackerel (2 fillets).

Total cost at a London farmers' market: approximately £18-22 for the seasonal components. Everything else — pasta, eggs, feta, cream, butter — comes from your regular shop or is already in your kitchen.

Making it a full week

The above five meals share several ingredients. New potatoes appear in the salad but also work as a side to grilled fish mid-week. Broad beans can stretch across three meals if you buy a larger quantity. Watercress keeps well for 3-4 days and works as a salad leaf throughout the week.

This is the structural logic of seasonal cooking: you buy what is abundant and cheap, use it across multiple dishes, and waste almost nothing.