Daily 10 March

Ellie Smith & Parm Bhamra
March 10, 2026

Staying In

Make The Most Of Hispi Cabbage Season

The trendiest veggie of 2026, cabbage is available year-round due to staggered harvesting of different types. Come March, it’s time for the hispi – arguably the most voguish variety of them all – to shine. But how to spruce up the humble ingredient? Rob Howell, chef-patron of Root restaurant (with outposts in Bristol, Bath and Wells), has shared his favourite way to cook it with our newsletter readers. ‘Our Caesar dressing has made its rounds on a lot of vegetables and dishes through the years – cheesy and garlicky, it’s pretty easy to get carried away,’ he says. ‘This dish just seems to top all the others we’ve tried it with – who knew the highlight of a meal could be a humble cabbage?’ Give it a go this week, and find out what else is in season this month here.

Hispi Cabbage With Caesar Dressing

Ingredients

Caesar dressing

25g Dijon mustard
20ml chardonnay vinegar
2 egg yolks
330ml neutral oil
100g old Winchester/ Parmesan cheese, grated
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 lemon juice/half zest
Salt

Hispi cabbage

2 hispi cabbages
2 shallots, thinly sliced into rings
Pickling liquid
2 tbsp of neutral oil
Extra cheese to grate over top

Method

To make the Caesar dressing, we start by making a mayonnaise base and then add the additional ingredients to that.
For the mayonnaise, combine the yolk, vinegar, salt and mustard in a bowl and whisk together, add the rapeseed oil slowly to create an emulsion. It is easier if you have someone to hold the bowl for you. This can be done with a mixer or electric whisk. When all the oil has been added you will have a mayonnaise.
Take 2 tbsp of mayonnaise and add to a blender along with the grated cheese, garlic, black pepper, lemon juice and zest. Blend the mixture with a little water, approximately 50ml, so it can blend freely. Now fold that mixture back through the mayonnaise and taste, more seasoning may be needed or perhaps a little more garlic if you are into that.
For the pickled shallots, peel and slice either with a mandolin or by hand and place in a container with a pinch of salt to help soften the shallots before pouring over the pickling liquid.
To prepare the cabbage, remove any larger hard outside leaves and cut in half – if you have a large cabbage cut in quarters. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Place the cut cabbages into the boiling water and cook for 4-5 minutes depending on size, making sure they are fully submerged. Remove from saucepan and drain in a colander, pat dry. Finish the dish by charring the hispi cabbages, coating them with a little oil and seasoning before cooking on a hot griddle, char grill or frying pan. Leave to cook on each side for about 6-8 minutes until it is really charred and the outside of the cabbage has coloured well.
Place on a chopping board and slice through the cabbage to create nice slices, making sure you use the stem, just cut through it a little thinner. Have a large salad bowl or serving plate to place onto, toss the hot cut cabbage with a good few spoonfuls of the Caesar dressing. When satisfied that the hispi is dressed appropriately add a good covering of pickled shallots and finish with an extra grating of cheese.

Going Out

Go To Cheltenham Festival

Kicking off the 2026 social season today is Cheltenham Festival, the most prestigious jump racing event of the year. Every March, more than 260,000 people flock to The Jockey Club for four days of top-class horse racing, an annual affair that can trace its roots as far back as 1860 (though the meeting as we know it today has returned annually since 1911). It’s a week of drama and high emotion, with moments of pure theatre thrown in for good measure – culminating with the highly-anticipated Gold Cup on Friday 13 March. If you’re keen to see the best of fashion, go on Ladies Day (Wednesday), where guests don their finest outfits with the hopes of winning gold in the Best Dressed competition (we’ve got some style tips here). Mainly there for the vibes? There’s plenty going on off the track, from shopping to live music to food and drink. Michel Roux Jr’s Chez Roux is back for 2026, serving up a four-course menu and plenty of Moët champagne, or you can keep it casual at The Horse & Groom Pub, which overlooks the final two fences of the racecourse. For an insider’s tip, former jockey and racing broadcaster Alice Plunkett recommends heading to the Guinness Village – ‘that’s where to go if you want to feel the buzz of Cheltenham and hear live music and have fun! ’ 10 – 13 March, thejockeyclub.co.uk

Property Of The Day

Though unassuming on the outside, this historic home in Bridport, Dorset is a riot of colour within. Currently home to an artist and his equally creative wife, the new owners will inherit a portrait of the latter in the form of a stained glass window and a hand-stencilled hallway.

On the market for £645,000, jackson-stops.co.uk

Little Luxury

Can’t decide between a vodka or a gin martini? We always have a bottle of each of Eight Lands’ award-winning Vodka and Gin in our bar ready to go with whichever direction our mood takes. The brand’s smooth vodka is distilled in Speyside using estate-grown organic barley and local water, while its organic gin is created using estate-grown botanicals including cowberry and sorrel. From £34.25 at thewhiskyexchange.com

Competition Time

We’re offering one lucky reader and their guest the chance to win a two-night stay at countryside hotel Donnington & Co. in Berkshire, including breakfast, dinner and a 25-minute spa treatment each.

Psssst…

Have you noticed the sun rising a little earlier and setting a little later each day? And the slight rise in temperature? Spring is in the air… and the new season officially starts next week on 20 March. This date is according to the astronomical calendar, coinciding with the spring equinox.

Whatever You Do, Don’t

Miss the upcoming gala from Create, our charity partner for 2026 which works to empower lives, reduce isolation and enhance wellbeing through the creative arts. On 26 March, the black-tie event will take place at Mosimann’s, a private dining club in Belgravia, complete with a champagne reception, five-course dinner and silent auction – all while helping to raise vital funds to support Create’s work. Tickets are £510pp, to reserve your place contact Sherry Delorino at [email protected]