Recipes: Taste of Summer

FEATURE: QUICK READ

Words by BRIDIE NEWMAN

Emily Ezekiel’s earliest memory of food? A bacon sandwich, made by her grandad Ezekiel Ezekiel (yes, that was his name). “He’d microwave a slice of crusty white bread for 10 seconds until it was warm and springy, then smother it in a spicy sweet sauce, and top with crispy bacon fried in butter and olive oil,” she remembers. “Dreamy.”

Growing up in London as part of a large family who all loved to cook, Ezekiel always knew that she wanted to work with food. Now, with more than 15 years of experience as a food author, art director, and food and prop stylist, she can safely say her culinary dream has come true. The three recipes below (photographed by Issy Croker) are particularly delicious examples of her less-is-more approach to cooking – and perfect for enjoying with loved ones this summer.

Spring crab salad with broad beans and shaved veg

To me, this salad is spring on a plate! You can use the same method but swap out any of the veg for whatever you have – maybe cucumber, carrots or sugar snap peas?

Serves 4 as a starter
150g sourdough, torn
50g green almonds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 lemon, juice and zest (plus extra zest for serving)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
100g broad beans (in pods)
1 bunch of asparagus
1 head of fennel
200g dressed crab

For the dressing
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 chilli, finely chopped
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch of chervil

Preheat the oven to 180 ̊c/gas mark 4

Toss the sourdough with the almonds, fennel seeds, lemon juice and zest, and olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper, and chuck it all onto a large baking tray. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, take out and toss the mixture well. Put back in the oven until everything is golden and crisp, then remove and leave to one side.

Place a small saucepan of water over a high heat. Once boiling, tip in the broad beans, cook for 1 minute, then drain and run under cold water. Pod the beans out of their skins and leave to one side.

Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus, then peel long thin shavings of the spears and place to one side. Using a sharp knife or mandolin, finely slice the fennel and add to the beans and asparagus.

For the dressing, whisk the mustard, chilli, lemon juice and zest, honey and olive oil in a large bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons of brown crab meat and season with salt and pepper. Roughly chop half the chervil leaves and stir in. Adjust the seasoning if needed.

Toss the vegetables into the dressing bowl. Scatter onto a large platter, then crumble over the remaining crab along with the roasted sourdough and almond mix. Finish with a flurry of fresh chervil and a little extra lemon zest if you like. Eat straight away.

Heritage Tomato Mezze

This simple but effective tomato mezze is easy to create and can be eaten hot or chilled. Top tip: make extra and use it again as a sauce for gnocchi or fresh pasta, or served with poached fish or pan-fried chicken breast. Hosting? Serve alongside a thirst-quenching iced elderflower and basil green tea.

Serves 6

1kg heritage tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 tbsp honey
12 cherry tomatoes on the vine
300g part-baked crusty bread
1 tsp pink peppercorns, crushed
2 tbsp chopped dill, plus extra sprigs
2 tbsp chopped coriander, plus extra sprigs
200g soft cheese
1 tbsp chopped mint
2 bunches of asparagus, trimmed
2 coeur de boeuf tomatoes, quartered

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4.

2. Place the heritage tomatoes in a large roasting tray with the garlic head halves. Drizzle with half the oil, lemon juice and honey, and season with sea salt and black pepper. Roast on the top oven shelf for 30 minutes.

3. Place the vine tomatoes and bread on an oven tray and roast on the bottom shelf for 10 minutes.

4. As soon as the heritage tomatoes come out of the oven, discard the garlic skins and transfer to a serving bowl. Mix in the lemon zest, pink peppercorns, chopped dill and chopped coriander. For the dip, sprinkle the soft cheese with chopped mint.

5. Place the asparagus in a saucepan of boiling water. Simmer for 5 minutes, then drain. Place on a large serving board, along with the soft cheese, roasted tomatoes, the coeur de boeuf tomatoes, vine tomatoes, crusty bread and extra dill and coriander. Drizzle the remaining oil over the asparagus and fresh tomatoes, season with sea salt, and serve.

My Sicilian-style lamb and heirloom tomato stew

I’m sure there will be many Italians furious with my attachment to this, but I have fond memories of sipping cold wine and eating a dish like this on a warm Sicilianesque evening in Syracuse. The stuff of dreams...

Serves 4-6 as a main
3 tbsp light olive oil
1kg lamb shoulder, deboned and cut into 3cm chunks
6 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 sticks of celery, finely diced
2 heads of fennel, finely diced
300ml dry white wine (preferably Sicilian)
1.2kg heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped
1⁄2 a bunch of oregano leaves
1⁄2 a bunch of rosemary
3 bay leaves
1 tsp dried chilli flakes

To serve
600g of papardelle
Pecorino to serve

Preheat oven to 150 ̊c/gas mark 2

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large heavy-bottom casserole (with a snug- fitting lid) and place over a high heat.While the pan heats up, heavily season the lamb with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Add half the diced lamb to the pan and brown on all sides; remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl while you repeat with the rest of the lamb. Turn the heat down to medium.

Add the remaining olive oil and the shallots, garlic, celery and fennel to the pan. Fry until softened and cooked down slightly – roughly 10 minutes. Turn the heat up, pour in the wine, then add the lamb back in along with all the remaining ingredients.

Place in the oven with the lid on for 2 hours, then remove the lid and cook for a further hour (or until the lamb is really soft and the tomatoes have caught a little), stirring after half an hour.

When the lamb is done, cook some papardelle until al dente (following the packet instructions) and toss it through the stew. Serve with a grating of Pecorino and a flurry of pepper.

Tomato Salad Filo Tart

This tomato dish is a salad bowl in a pie crust, perfect for those sometimes-cool-and-sometimes-hot summer days (hello barbecue centrepiece – find more garden party food ideas here). It pairs excellently with our Harrods Chianti Classico.

Serves 4

80g unsalted butter or vegan alternative, melted (plus extra for greasing)
1/2 red onion, sliced
14 x 25cm square sheets filo pastry
2 purple beef tomatoes, sliced
550g heritage tomatoes, roughly chopped
50g seasonal lettuce leaves
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1/2 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tbsp mint sprigs

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6, then grease a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin with butter and place on a flat oven tray. Put the sliced onion in a bowl of ice water.

2. Using a pastry brush, cover a filo pastry sheet with melted butter, then place the pastry sheet within the tart tin. Brush another filo pastry sheet with butter, then place it on top of the pastry sheet already in the tart tin, but at a slightly different angle. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheets and then brush the whole of the filo case with butter.

3. Roughly scrunch up the pastry that sits above the top of the tin, bake for 8–10 minutes until golden, then transfer the pastry case to a plate.

4. Drain the sliced onion, then mix with the tomatoes and lettuce leaves in a bowl, and place the mixture within the pastry case.

5. For the dressing, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, honey and garlic in a jug, and season with sea salt and black pepper. Garnish the tart with the mint and pour the dressing over.

Sri-Lankan style fish and tomato curry, served with a coconut sambal

This take on a Sri Lankan fish curry is utterly delicious. It’s great with monkfish, but any other white meaty fish (make sure it’s sustainably sourced) will work fine.

Serves 4 as a main
600g monkfish, skinned and deboned
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 limes, zest and juice

For the sambal
100g desiccated coconut
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 shallot, finely diced
2 limes, zest (of 1) and juice

For the sauce
3 onions
4 cloves of garlic
7cm piece of ginger
3 green chillies (fewer if you don’t like the heat)
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 large handful of fresh curry leaves
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
1 tbsp tamarind paste

Slice the monkfish into large chunks and pop into a large mixing bowl with the turmeric and lime zest and juice, and season generously with salt. Mix to make sure the fish is well coated, then place in the fridge until you’re ready to use.

Tip the desiccated coconut into a large bowl, pour boiling water over it, and put to one side.

Start your sauce by peeling and finely slicing the onions and garlic. Peel and finely chop the ginger, then slice the chillies in half lengthways.

Place a large casserole pan over a medium heat, add the coconut oil, then tip in the sliced onion and cook, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes or until soft and completely cooked down.

Add the garlic, ginger, chillies and curry leaves, and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add all the spices and fry for a further minute, then tip in the tomatoes and cook down until thick – this should take around 10 minutes. Then add the coconut milk and tamarind paste, and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Tip in the monkfish, and simmer until the fish is cooked through and opaque – roughly 10 minutes.

While the fish is cooking, drain the coconut using a fine sieve, squeezing out any excess water; then place it and all the remaining sambal ingredients in a large pestle and mortar, and give it a good bash together.

Serve the curry with the sambal and, if you fancy, some rice and rotis.

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