A lobster thermidor on a white serving plate

Blood oranges

Blood oranges are celebrated for their ruby red flesh and juice. Blood oranges are only in season for a short time as they need huge temperature shifts in order to grow well – hot in the day and then down to below freezing at night. Make the most of this citrus in our blood orange recipes.

Blood orange loaf cake

Edd Kimber's show-off bake combines the ruby-red brilliance of blood oranges with crunchy poppy seeds and grated marzipan.

A loaf cake with blood orange slices on top

Blood orange margarita

Blood oranges add a beautiful ruby red hue to a pitcher of margaritas. Remember to add a large pinch of hot chilli powder to really make your cocktail sing!

Bananas

Bananas are the UK’s most popular fruit and, on average, people eat 100 a year. When buying look for yellow, unblemished skin – green and its underripe, any brown or dark marks may mean it is close to over-ripening.

Banoffee cheesecake

This banoffee cheesecake has all the comforting flavour of the old-school pud but the style of an impressive dinner party dessert – and it takes less than 30 minutes of hands-on time to make.

Cheesecake drizzled in caramel and topped with sliced banana on a grey stone background with two slices cut out,

Banana fritters

Serve these battered, deep-fried bananas with a dusting of icing sugar – look for yellow-skinned bananas (not green), as you'll want them to be ripe.

Classic banana split

With just five everyday ingredients, this old-school dessert couldn't be easier – or speedier – to make. It's a good job it'll never go out of style.

A blue enamel tray holding two blue plates of banana split, drizzled in chocolate sauce

Hake

Hake is from the same family as cod and haddock, although its flesh is a bit meatier when cooked. It is a favourite in Spanish cooking, although it is native to British waters, and we should eat more of it! Here's how with our best hake recipes.

Spanish-style hake

Chorizo brings savoury heat to this veg-filled stew. Topped with meaty hake fillets and vibrant slices of orange, it makes for a flavour-packed supper.

Spinach

Absolutely jam-packed with iron, antioxidants and other nutrients, spinach is especially good for us. We love its vibrant green colour when added to dishes, including our top spinach recipes.

Saag aloo

An Indian classic of spiced potatoes and spinach, that packs in plenty of this nutritious leafy green.

Spinach gnudi

Whizz blanched spinach into ricotta to make these delicious, pillowy gnudi.

Spinach, leek and pea soup

Lovely, soothing and packed full of veg.

A bowl of leek, spinach and pea soup, topped with seeds

Lobster

You can usually source live or cooked lobsters from your local fishmonger, but if not then larger supermarkets often stock cooked, frozen lobsters which will work just as well. Try our lobster recipes.

Lobster thermidor

Serve this indulgent classic with a big green salad and plenty of crusty bread for mopping up that rich, creamy sauce. If you can’t get lobster, chop some cooked king prawns and mix through the sauce then put into a gratin dish and grill.