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Salad days are here – whatever the weather!
Clare Latimer is inspired by the London Food Festival to whip up a summer soup and salad
YET again this year I had a lovely evening at the Channel 4 Taste of London Food Festival in Regent’s Park. There was a great deal of food and various drinks to try, ranging from flavoured soft drinks to 60-year-old brandy – which comes out nearly as dark as black treacle – and dishes such as fresh oysters and belly of pork cooked in cumin.
The only rule is that not too many flavours are mixed together, otherwise it makes the journey home rather uncomfortable!
I had the good fortune at the festival to meet the cheeky and outrageous Jeremy Lee, head chef at the Blueprint Café, which overlooks the Thames at Tower Bridge. He was in the BBC Great British Menu competition recently and turned out to be great fun and very amusing to chat to. It has prompted me to visit the restaurant again soon for the view and food.
He had a great description of salads: “Variations of salads are quite literally limitless in scope. Textures, colours, fruits, vegetables, peppery or mustardy leaves, fishes fresh and cured, cooked or raw meats, poultry and offal in every conceivable fashion tumbled together.”
I am inspired to do a salad recipe and also a creamy summer soup but without the chef recipe complications.
Beetroot and peach salad
This can be a starter or main course. Certainly try and buy fresh raw beetroots, as the flavour is much better than precooked ones.
Also, the blue cheese can be of your choice but I would choose either a creamy Dolcelatte or Roquefort, but if you want to stick to British then a good Lancashire Blue would be good.
Ingredients
Serves 4 – 6
500g raw small raw beetroots
2 tbsp walnut oil
1 and 1/2 tbsp raspberry vinegar
1 teasp caster sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 fennel bulb
2 ripe peaches
250g rocket leaves
150g soft blue cheese
100g pecan nuts, roughly chopped.
Method
Cook the beetroots in boiling salted water for about three quarters of an hour, drain and leave to cool.
Mix together the walnut oil, vegetable oil and raspberry vinegar with the caster sugar and season with salt and pepper.
Thinly slice the fennel bulb and put into a salad bowl. Skin the peach and then cut into small cubes and add to the bowl. Then break the rocket leaves and blue cheese in small pieces and add the chopped pecan nuts. Skin the beetroots with your hands when cool and then chop into smallish cubes and add.
Pour over the oil dressing when ready to serve and toss well.
Ham and bean potage
This is a lovely creamy soup and great at this time of year using fresh broad beans. At other times of year you can use frozen broad beans, which are nearly as good and easier to prepare.
Ingredients
Serves 4
50g butter
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 sprigs lemon thyme, or thyme
2 bay leaves
1 litre vegetable stock
1 ham hock
500g broad beans, after podding
Freshly ground black pepper
Handful mint and parsley, chopped finely
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Little olive oil.
Method
Put the butter into a heavy-based large saucepan and add the onion and garlic.
Cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and then add the lemon thyme and bay leaves.
Pour in the vegetable stock and add the ham hock. Bring to the boil and then cover and simmer for one hour.
Add the broad beans, reserving about 12 beans for garnish. Take the skin off these beans. Continue to cook covered for a further 15 minutes.
Remove the ham hock, skin and leave to cool. Put the rest into a blender and whiz until smooth and creamy.
Shred the ham off the bone and put the flesh back into the soup.
Reheat when ready to serve. Check the seasoning, pour into serving bowls and then sprinkle over the few whole beans along with the chopped mint and parsley, and the lemon rind.
Finally drizzle over a little olive oil.
Yum. |
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