Although I am, in all honesty, the keenest of home cooks, I appreciate something I can rustle up in a hurry in the holidays.
I’m afraid to say, though, I’ve exhausted my usual cold summer repertoire. No more niçoise or caprese salad, or prosciutto with melon until next year. The following dishes are light on industry, but weighty on flavour. There is an easy-to-accomplish fish lunch, appropriate for the hottest of days. Much can be prepared the evening before the sun has set, then quickly brought together the next day.
Tagliolini with clams, courgettes, parsley and garlic
This sauce can be prepared the day before and left overnight in the fridge. Equally, using clams from a jar can make it super speedy and still delicious. Serves 4
clams 1.5kg
courgettes 3, small (about 300g)
garlic 1 clove
parsley 1 small bunch
dried chilli ½
olive oil
anchovy fillets 2 (optional)
butter 1 tbsp
egg tagliolini or tagliatelle 250g
Wash the clams well in several changes of water. Discard any that are open. Heat a saucepan with a close-fitting lid over a high heat and add the clams with a large spoonful of hot water and quickly cover. Cook for 5 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time, until all the clams are open.
Remove the clams from the pan, reserving the liquid. Pick the meat from the shells once cool enough to handle.
Grate the courgettes coarsely. Chop the garlic and parsley. Crush the chilli.
Generously cover the bottom of a wide pan with olive oil, add the garlic and set over a medium heat. Once hot, add the chilli, parsley and anchovies. When the anchovies have dissolved, turn the heat up and add the courgettes. Quickly cook for 4 minutes, stirring, then pour in the clam liquid and reduce a little. Finally, add the clams and butter.
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water and add to the sauce with a ladle of starchy cooking water. Toss very thoroughly before serving.
Spelt, cucumber and chickpea salad
In my local greengrocer’s there are sometimes three different types of cucumber, including a knobbly variety worthy of the BFG himself. I make this with a mix if I find them. Cooking the grain shortly before serving makes this the perfect temperature to bring out the flavours of the vegetables – tasting far better than a pre-prepared salad. Serves 4
carrots 150g, smaller ones if possible
cucumbers 250g
garlic 1 clove
fresh chilli ½ (optional)
yellow cherry tomatoes 150g
spelt or farro 200g (preferably pearled)
red wine vinegar 50ml
salt
sugar 1 tsp
cooked chickpeas 400g, or dried chickpeas 200g, soaked overnight and then boiled
olive oil
mint leaves to serve, torn
Scrub the carrots and cut them into 1cm pieces. Cut the cucumber into 5mm slices. Peel the garlic and cut in two. Slice the chilli. Bring a medium pot of water to the boil. Score the tomatoes and plunge them into the boiling water for 20 seconds, then place in cold water. Boil the carrots for 4 minutes, while you pop the tomatoes out of their skins. Place both together in a bowl with the cucumber, chilli and garlic.
Mix the red wine vinegar with 3 tsp of salt, 200ml of water and the sugar. Cover the vegetables with this solution and leave in the fridge overnight.
Shortly before eating, bring a large pot of water to the boil with a handful of salt. Boil the spelt until cooked. This will typically take about 35 minutes. Drain and add to a large salad bowl with the chickpeas. Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from their vinegar mixture and stir through with some torn-up mint leaves and a generous glug of olive oil. Add a couple of spoons of the vegetable vinegar liquid and check the seasoning.
I keep the vinegar liquid for reusing with different vegetables the next day, or to use in salad dressing.
Grilled green peppers and sardines
Feel free to add a fresh jalapeño or other green chilli into the mix if you like that sort of thing. I love this sauce with any oily fish. It is quite as delicious warm or cold after having sat for a while. Of course, this a strong contender for the barbecue, but I find cooking the sardines under the grill is a really good fuss-free option. Serves 4
small green peppers 150g (padrón or similar)
olive oil
salt
garlic ¼ clove
coriander 1 small bunch
lime or lemon juice of 1
black pepper
rosemary sprigs 4
sardines 8, scaled and gutted
Heat the grill. Take the stalks off the peppers. Oil and salt them ever so lightly. On a baking sheet, grill them under a high heat, turning after 5 minutes, until fully cooked and blistered and golden in places.
Finely chop the garlic and then roughly chop in the coriander, including the stalks. Add the peppers to your cutting board and continue to chop everything together. On your serving plate, dress all with the juice of the lime or lemon, salt, pepper and more olive oil. Taste.
Break the rosemary sprigs in half and place inside each sardine. Salt and oil them ever so lightly before grilling them, too, turning after 5 minutes.
Once cooked, smother them on the serving plate in pepper sauce and more juice and olive oil if appropriate. Cover with a bowl and let them sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Peaches in red wine
Ripe yellow peaches are peeled and left to rest in a strong (cheap) red wine syrup. This doesn’t need anything else. Strong and refreshing, it is a fabulous end to a meal and something to linger over ahead of a siesta. Serves 4
red wine 350ml
ripe peaches 4
sugar 60g
lemon ½
Bring the wine to the boil with 350ml of water. Wash the peaches and boil for 3 minutes or so before removing to a bowl of cold water. Use a small knife to peel off their skins. Then cut in half, remove the stones and set aside in a serving bowl. Sprinkle each peach with a spoonful of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add the remaining sugar to the wine and reduce until a third of the volume is left. Turn off the heat and pour over the peaches. When cool enough, move to the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
Joe Trivelli is joint head chef of London’s River Café (rivercafe.co.uk).
We aim to publish recipes for fish rated as sustainable by the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide
