IN SEASON
Bob Andrew, recipe box chef at Riverford, gives us ideas for getting creative with summer veg when entertaining
Summer is the time of salads, and as a nation we can still feel a sense of trepidation at straying from a rather narrow path of prosaic produce. Raw courgettes, carrots or even runner beans, pulled into long thin ribbons with a swivel top peeler, add something visual and textural. Spindly matchsticks of beetroot add an earthy sweetness and vivid colour or you could opt for some crisp, refreshing shreds of kohlrabi or fennel. Unless you crave a specific character in your salad leaves try for an interesting selection; we fill our bags with a mix of strong, peppery and mild leaves to create an interesting overall balance. Try and do the same with any ingredients you add. Balance a salty cheese or olives with something sweet like nectarines, roast peppers or tomatoes. Combat any bitter tastes with something sharp and acidic. Toasted nuts, seeds or croutons will give a crunch to proceedings. Cooked and cooled pulses and grains such as puy lentils, spelt, farro and chickpeas will lend a bit of bite as well as bulk. Take the time to layer and place your ingredients so as best to show off their colours, shapes and contrasts. Herbs, crumbled cheese, nuts and vibrant coloured dressings are best added at the end as a finishing flourish. Try eating something cold that you would eat hot, and vice versa.
A tomato-based gazpacho is an obvious example, but a simple soup of peas and watercress or sweetcorn and chilli works wonders if served chilled with an artful swirl of crème fraîche. Conversely, we find that our award-winning mini cucumbers respond well to being lightly braised, in long batons, with a little white wine and stock and
LEMON AND PEPPER MACARONS WITH SMOKED SALMON
The lemony, peppery macarons still taste sweet, which complements the smokiness of the salmon. The addition of grapefruit gives some extra zing without being overpowering – your taste buds will be confused!
100g ground almonds 100g icing sugar 90g egg whites (about 3 eggs) 100g golden caster sugar 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, plus extra for sprinkling 1 tsp lemon extract A few drops of yellow food colouring
FOR THE FILLING: 280g cream cheese 300g smoked salmon, sliced 18–20 small white grapefruit segments Dill sprigs
makes 18-20
“Try eating
something cold that you would eat hot, and vice versa”
make a surprising accompaniment to some poached salmon. Stout wedges of little gem lettuce will take the same treatment and make a summery side with garden peas or smoked bacon, and plenty of freshly chopped herbs.
We’ve even been known to cook our radishes; briefly with a little wine vinegar and butter until tender but still with a discernible bite. Pickling and fermentation are very de rigueur and pose simple
and effective DIY food projects. Te summer larder is ripe for lightly pickling in a little vinegar, sugar and salt or piling into Kilner jars to bubble and fizz. Pointed cabbage, kohlrabi, beetroots, fennel and cucumbers are all contenders. Fold the results into slaws, salads, burgers, wraps or sandwiches.
1 Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Put the ground almonds and icing sugar into a food processor and whizz until finely ground, then sift into a bowl to make a fine powder. Set aside.
2 In a large, clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then add the caster sugar a little at a time, whisking until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Using a rubber spatula, gradually fold the almond powder, black pepper, lemon extract and food colouring into the egg whites until the mixture is smooth and shiny and just falls in a ribbon from your spatula.
3 Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm diameter plain piping nozzle, then pipe discs about 4cm in diameter on to the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle a little extra black pepper over each macaron. Give the base of each baking sheet a sharp tap against the work surface to ensure a good ‘foot’, then leave to stand for 10–30 minutes at room temperature to allow the tops to dry out. (You should be able to gently touch the
surface of a macaron without it sticking to your finger.) Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150C / Gas 2.
4 Bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes, or until the baking paper peels off easily from the macarons, briefly opening the door after 10 minutes to let out the steam. Leave to cool on the baking sheets until almost cold, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
5 To make the filling, put the cream cheese into a bowl and beat until soft, then spoon into a piping bag and pipe a little on to the base of a macaron. Top with a slice of smoked salmon, a grapefruit segment and a frond of dill. Pipe a little more cream cheese on to the base of a second macaron, then secure at an angle on top of the filling. Repeat with the remaining macarons and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours until ready to serve.
Eric Lanlard’s Afternoon Tea by Eric Lanlard, published by Mitchell Beazley
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