Suzy's Summer Salad

In celebration of this brief glimpse of summer I thought I'd share one of my favourite starters. It's so simple and so unexpected and makes a very welcome change from mezze style dips (which even I tire of occasionally). Suzy is a very special friend whom we used to spend wonderful, not entirely sober weekends with in Edinburgh until she abandoned us for Sydney (the place!). Suzy's fridge was always full of fabulous deli delights, but she tends to be more of an 'assembler' than a cook so you can rest assured this is dead easy to make.

Ingredients

1 small melon (charentais is good for colour, but ogen or honeydew is fine)
1 large punnet cherry tomatoes, halved (or 5 really ripe tomatoes, deseeded and quartered)
1 small cucumber
4 tbsp white balsamic condiment
1/2 - 1 tsp sugar
handful mint

Makes enough for at least 4 or 5 starter portions

If you have the patience make melon balls, otherwise just cut into  large dice. Pop these and the tomatoes into a large bowl (along with any juice from the melon). Use a potato peeler to make long strips of cucumber (exclude the first two or three strips which will be mainly skin)... or you can just cut into slices... the aesthetics are down to you. Anyway add the cucumber to the bowl too.

Then cut the mint into very fine ribbons (if you chop it instead it bruises very easily and black is not a good look for this dish). Add to the balsamic and 'season' with the amount of sugar that suits you. Best chilled before serving. Drink with plenty of Australian chardonnay.

Asparagus Rice Paper Rolls

We are mourning the end of the asparagus season at the moment, so here is the last recipe of the season before we say bye bye. It's adapted from Mo's brilliant mezze selection on our World Tapas course and was one of the favourites at the Claremont asparagus evenings this year (as well as the soup of course!)

Ingredients

4 large rice paper roll wraps

20 asparagus spears, trimmed and steamed lightly

4 spring onions, thinly sliced

several handfuls baby spinach

4-5 tbsp sprouted mung beans

Dressing

1 tbsp golden syrup

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 red chillies, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

25g salted roasted peanuts, ground

Serves 4 as a starter

First of all moisten the rice paper wraps one by one in a wide bowl of warm water. Lie them on a flat surface then place some spinach along the centre, add 5 spears of the asparagus and sprinkle with the bean sprouts and onions.

Then drizzle over some of the sauce and roll into a wrap folding in the edges. (This sauce is fab with all sorts of oriental dishes...) Cut in half  and serve with thinly sliced cucumber and mint. You may need to make double the quantity since they slip down rather easily - who would have believed healthy food can taste so divine...?

Chile Rellenos

As you might suspect, Mo is very fond of Mexican cuisine (the spicier the better in her book) and I still have very happy memories of eight scorching days in the Yucatan during 2004. The end result is a proper Mexican cookery course which we love teaching – no Tex-Mex but lots of simple, easy to prepare dishes, based on beans, corn, tomatoes, chocolate and avocadoes. During our research there was one traditional vegetarian dish we came across (which is quite unusual in Mexico!) so we have included it here. It is spectacularly unhealthy, but quite delicious and best eaten using fingers.

Ingredients

6 poblano chillies or dried ancho chillies

300g mature cheddar cheese, cut into wedges

2 large eggs

1 tbsp plain flour

salt and pepper

vegetable oil for frying

Salsa

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp vegetable oil

6 large vine tomatoes

1 medium onion, peeled, cut into 4

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 jalapeno pepper (optional)

1 tsp sweet or hot smoked paprika or chipotle sauce

2 tsp Mexican oregano (Italian will do if necessary) 

2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Serves 2-3

To make the salsa pop the tomatoes, onions, garlic and jalapeno (if using) into a sauce pan, cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Drain, blend and then do the boring bit - sieve the mixture into a bowl. Mix in the paprika or chipotle powder, oregano and coriander, season to taste.

This is the point at which you decide how much heat you want…. chipotle is a wonderful way of boosting heat but be careful it has an evil kick that creeps up on you. If you can’t find chipotle en adobe at your local deli, it’s easy to order from The Cool Chile Company (along with the anchos!)

Then heat the oil in a frying pan and toast the cumin seeds until they release their aroma, before adding the tomato mixture. Cook for 5 minutes and set aside to cool.

To deal with the chillies make a small incision at the top of each chilli, place on a rack and grill until charred all over. Throw into a bowl, cover with cling film and when cool enough to handle remove the skin. Or, if you are using dried anchos just rehydrate with boiling water in a large bowl for several hours; then drain, dry and cut a slice down the side of the chilli

Carefully stuff the chillies with the cheese in the incision, secure with a cocktail stick if needed. To make the batter separate the eggs and whisk the whites until stiff, mix the flour into the egg yolks, season with a little salt then mix into the whites.

When you are ready to eat dip the chillies into the egg batter and shallow fry until golden on both sides. Serve with the tomato sauce (and sour cream as well if you fancy a dairy overdose – tho it can help cool down the heat…)

Passionfruit Tart

Now there are lots of recipes for passionfruit tart out there and I thought I'd found a pretty good one by Gordon Ramsey, which has a chocolate lined pastry case! But I have to say I've just eaten a rather large portion of one that tasted even better... no doubt because it was made by the greatest loss to the culinary world -  my ex-restaurant partner, Lee (with the help of ace pastry maker Craig). The recipe comes from The Accidental Vegetarian by Simon Rimmer and although we have a few reservations about his restaurant Greens, this really is divine! Maybe it's a patience thing.....

Asparagus Tapenade

It wasn't perfect weather, but we still had a great Asparagus evening at Claremont Farm last Friday. Once everyone was thoroughly exhausted after striding through the strawberries and down to the asparagus fields to cut their own little harvest, we sat down to a feast of our favourite vegetable. We still love the pre-dinner canapes so here they are - asparagus and strawberries (yes - it's a fab combo....) with pomegranate molasses and orange and spicy (of course if Mo has cooked it!) tapenade on smart little bread 'spoons'. (Please note it's ever so healthy with the pumpkin seeds and did you know that asparagus is really high in something called glutathione - a natural anti-oxidant that's great for the liver.....)

Asparagus Tapenade
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Ingredients

450g asparagus, trimmed and cooked

75g pumpkin seeds, toasted

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp dried tarragon

2 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp salt

 ½ tsp black pepper

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Method

Just whack all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until desired texture (smooth or rough - whatever suits your taste ... or patience threshold). Then transfer to a serving dish, chill a little and serve with crackers.

White Asparagus Soup

We are now in the midst of the asparagus season at Claremont Farm on the Wirral and Mo is in her element. She’s been experimenting with the beautiful white version that we normally only see in posh restaurants in this country, so here is her post!

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

2 leeks, cleaned and sliced (grit not very nutritional hey Sarah?)

500g Claremont Farm white asparagus (or however much you can afford!) peeled and cut into 1” chunks

2 stalks of lemon grass, finely chopped

1 litre veggie stock

80ml sherry

juice of ½ lemon

40g ground almonds

salt and WHITE* pepper to taste

Serves 4

Fry the leeks in the oil until soft, add the asparagus and fry for a little longer (while tasting the sherry that you've had a the back of the cupboard for few years aka Michael McIntyre syndrome).

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil and simmer until asparagus is tender.

Blend until smooth, may need to sieve if you haven't got a super dooper blender like me!!

Season and enjoy, try to visualise you are in a Spanish Villa. (Can be served hot or cold).

* Yes, Mo promise I will try it with white pepper instead of black even though I find it really strong!

Stuffed Vine Tomatoes

Up here in the chilly North West we’re not quite ready to celebrate summer, so here is a recipe that reminds us sun and warmth may not be far off, but that hearty ingredients can still be appreciated.

It’s back to my nemesis – the stuffed vegetable – a word that strikes fear and loathing into anyone attempting modern vegetarian cookery (or eating out). On day I’ll let you in on the Ramiro pepper and halloumi secret, but right now we’re going to do another plug for a luscious legume (the link will take you to one of our favourite courses too!)

Baked Tomatoes with Lentils & Goats Cheese

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Ingredients

4 large, ripe vine tomatoes

100g puy lentils, cooked (with a bay leaf and pinch of salt)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 large clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp tomato puree

½ tsp smoked paprika

50ml red wine

5-6 black olives, chopped

2 tbsp parsley and chives, finely chopped

75g soft goats cheese roughly crumbled (or feta if you prefer)

Preheat your oven to Gas5/190C, then get to work on the tomatoes. First take a slice off the top (keeping any bit of vine on for decoration if possible). Then the best implement to get rid of the pips is a grapefruit knife. Once these have been scooped out, turn the tomatoes upside down on kitchen towel to drain further.

Use 2 tsp oil to sauté the shallot until soft, pop in the garlic for a moment (it will burn if you add it at the same time as the shallot) along with the paprika. Cook for a minute or two and then add the tomato puree. Again cook for a minute (uncooked tomato puree tastes pretty awful). Finally add the red wine and heat for a few minutes before throwing in the cooked lentils, olives and herbs (I have resisted using my favourite dill, but do feel free to add it!)

This mixture can be made several hours in advance which will allow the flavours to infuse nicely. When you are ready, season the inside of the tomatoes with salt and pepper (or some dried oregano), add the cheese to the lentils and fill the tomatoes – you may have to squash in some of the filling. Place the tomato tops back on and drizzle with the remaining oil.