June days are so long, it is very tempting to eat like the Mediterranean folks: as late as nine or ten. I know: it’s not that simple when you have to get up at 6 the next morning, and everyone on YouTube and TikTok tells you to stick to the 8-hour eating window.
That’s why my collection is dreamy: not every day and certainly not aiming to eat as late as ten, but on some particularly balmy summer evenings we can take leisurely time cooking delightful food from the fresh produce that summer has to offer.
My collection of summer recipes includes light, not terribly involved but rewarding dishes, best served and eaten in a leisurely way, al fresco or at least with the windows open wide. The recipes are a pleasure to prepare, not just to eat.
The best of summer vegetables, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes and whatever else you fancy or consider a summer vegetable, are marinated with harissa, honey and fragrant spices. Roast them then then fold into couscous to mop up the juices.
Summer vegetables with couscous
RECIPE
Use leftover roast chicken or cook portions from scratch, for the perfect warm salad. Not your usual boring chicken salad though: this one is with seared halloumi cheese chunks and peach salsa, for sweet and spicy combination of flavours.
Chicken and halloumi with peach salsa
RECIPE
The best summer cooking is dishes based on roasted vegetables. This one is a Mediterranean vegetable mix served with a topping of crumbled feta and toasted pine nuts. It’s vegetarian, it’s wholesome and it’s healthy.
Roasted vegetables with feta
RECIPE
Fideua is a version of paella, with short thin vermicelli pasta replacing the rice. It can be cooked in an ordinary frying pan rather than a special paella pan: in fact, I’ve had my best results when using the former. And It is an easy and pleasant cooking session, with the only chore being making the stock out of prawn shells and heads. It isn’t strictly necessary – a fish or vegetable stock cube is serviceable.
Chunky ratatouille with chicken is a carnivore's twist on Provencal classic. It's the perfect protein+fibre combo, made in one pot and baked in the oven, giving you enough time for a couple of glasses of rosé while waiting for the food.
Chunky ratatouille with chicken
RECIPE
While the asparagus season lasts, this is one of the best recipes for a dreamy dinner. Asparagus paired with queen scallops and baby aubergines, this is a leisurely stir-fry as you cook the ingredients one after the other, without the usual wok panic.
Scallop and asparagus stir-fry
RECIPE
My dreamiest recipe in this collection: fragrant, delicate, sophisticated but actually quite easy to follow. Lightly poached sea bass fillets are flaked onto piles of soaked samphire and seasoned with nam prik inspired sauce.
Lemongrass sea bass with samphire
RECIPE
Courgette boats stuffed with spiced minced lamb, topped with cheese and baked in the oven, are not only a satisfying meal. They are also another answer to ‘what do we do with all those courgettes?’ question.
Lamb stuffed yellow courgettes
RECIPE
Summer rolls are the lesser known cousins to spring (or egg) rolls from Asian cuisines. They are also a healthy and easy alternative: meat or just vegetable filling is rolled in a soaked rice wrap and served with a dip. No deep frying, no mess, just fresh flavours.
Vietnamese summer rolls
RECIPE
And finally, why not have a lazy supper of beans on toast? But in this instance it’s broad bean and smashed pea bruschetta with herbs, garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. A new take on the old classic!