S pring has a split personality. The idea of it is nice: frolicking through carpets of bluebells while wearing pastel-coloured trousers, etcetera. But the reality is that it’s often dicey and unreliable: hot one minute, cold and/or tipping down with rain the next. This is a recipe that has a foot in both sides of spring. There’s the warm comfort of basmati rice woven through with sweet onions, harissa and chickpeas, as well as the light frivolity of green herbs and the salty freshness of feta. All the flavour and freshness of spring with none of the unpredictability.

Spring rice with feta, harissa and pine nut sauce

Prep 15 min

Cook 45 min

Serves 4

300g basmati rice

40g pine nuts

3 tbsp rose harissa – I like Belazu’s

2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste

1 unwaxed lemon , skin peeled off in strips, then juiced to get 1½ tbsp

7 tbsp olive oil

1¾ tsp fine sea salt

2 red onions , peeled and finely chopped

4 garlic cloves , peeled and minced

1 400g tin chickpeas , drained

1½ tsp ground allspice

120g baby…