Simple and seasonal is good

If you're not going to eat your bodyweight in indulgent goodies (I find myself yearning for a plate of really good chips – a bit of a surprise, I thought it would be chocolat I missed most) you might as well make sure that you eat well. By which I mean that it's becoming even more important to me than it ever was to cook with really good, fresh ingredients.

A few nights ago, Mark and I settled down to a beautifully simple supper (left) of grilled lemon sole, Jersey potatoes and a mixture of samphire and wild garlic.

Samphire, if you've never eaten it before, is a green vegetable that grows in marshy areas near the sea; there's a tangy saltiness to it that evokes the taste of the sea, which is what makes it particularly good as an accompaniment to fish.

Wild garlic leaves are in season now – for a few weeks only, so if you find some, snap it up! The leaves have a mild flavour – more of a gentle fragrance than a full-on blast of garlickiness.

Grilled lemon sole, Jersey royals, samphire and wild garlic for two

1 medium-large lemon sole (or Dover sole, if you really want to splash out)
some Jersey royals (be sensible about how many you put on your plate – I had four small spuds while Mark had about double the amount)
150g samphire
a good double handful of wild garlic leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
a small knob of butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Get your fishmonger to clean the fish for you. Place it on a grill tray, brush it lightly with olive oil, then season. Grill until cooked, then turn the fish over, oil lightly, season and grill until cooked through.

Meanwhile, cook the spuds in pan of salted water (bring to the boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes, until done).

Cook the samphire in boiling water for about 4 minutes, the drain.

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over a medium flame and chuck in the wild garlic. Once it begins to wilt, toss in the samphire and heat through. Melt the butter into the greens.

Fillet the fish, divide into two portions and plate up with the spuds and greens.