As summer moves on, the flavours get stronger and the colours get brighter. As the sun gets higher in the sky, rosemary and basil become the preferred herbs, garlic suddenly seems more appropriate and tomatoes really come into their own. This month I have gone for the sunniest of flavours and ingredients from beefsteak tomatoes and black olives to the tartest of summer berries. There is a wonderful pork roast too, with a sharp salsa, the meat being cooked for a long time with the sweetest of alcohol. It's a feast of big flavours for a baking hot summer.
Southern Comfort pork
A very slow sweet roast. I am not convinced by this whiskey in a glass, but it works very nicely in this recipe, giving a wonderful sweetness to the roasting juices.
Serves 4-6
pork belly, bones in, scored 1.5 kg
Southern Comfort 150ml
For the salsa
peaches 4
small red chilli 1
tomatoes 6
limes juice of 2
olive oil a little
coriander leaves a good handful
Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 7. Check the butcher has scored the fat on the pork. Put the meat into a roasting tin, season all over with salt and black pepper. No oil or fat. Roast in the fully preheated oven for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven, lower the heat to 160C/gas mark 3. Pour the Southern Comfort into the roasting tin with 150ml of water then return to the oven and leave the pork to continue cooking for a further 1 hour 40 minutes.
Remove the pork from the roasting tin and leave it to rest on a warm dish, loosely covered with foil. Place the roasting tin over a moderate heat and pour in 250ml of hot water or stock. Bring to the boil and stir constantly to dissolve all the baked-on juices and pan stickings into the gravy. Season with salt and a little black pepper then pour into a warm jug. Serve the sweet, porky juice with the pork and salsa.
To make the salsa, halve and stone the peaches, then cut the flesh into large dice. You can peel them if you wish. Seed and finely chop the chilli and add to the peaches. Chop the tomatoes and add them together with the juice of the limes, some salt and pepper and a small trickle of olive oil. Toss gently together with the coriander and serve with the pork and its juices.
Herb burgers
A greener, more interesting version of the classic beanburger. They are at their most charming made as small patties and stuffed into buns.
Serves 6
mung beans 400g can
flageolet beans 400g can
spring onions 6
rapeseed oil 1 tbsp
basil a large handful
chives 8
garlic cloves 2, peeled and crushed
parsley about 8g, chopped
tomatoes 4
buns, to serve 6
mayonnaise about 6 tbsp
Drain and rinse the beans in a colander or sieve under cold running water. Finely slice the spring onions and let them soften in the oil over a moderate heat. Don't let them brown. Add the basil leaves, the finely chopped chives, the garlic cloves, peeled and crushed, and chopped parsley. When the herbs have darkened a little, tip in the drained beans and season the mixture generously.
Using a potato masher, partially crush the mixture so that there are smooth bits and rough bits, producing a texture that will be interesting to eat. Mould small balls of the mixture into thick, flat patties – you will get about 12. They are fragile, so treat them carefully. Set them down on a baking sheet, then refrigerate for a good 20 minutes.
Warm a thin layer of oil in a non-stick frying pan, then place the patties down in the pan, a few at a time, leaving room to flip them over. When the underside is golden brown, carefully turn the patties over and cook the other side. Drain briefly on kitchen paper before stuffing them into the buns with slices of tomato and a slather of mayonnaise.
Cod roe with rosemary potato crisps
A soft cod roe pâté for dipping toasted bread or, more interestingly I think, slices of crisply baked potato with rosemary and garlic.
Serves 6-8
For the crisps
potatoes, medium sized 800g
rosemary 2 bushy sprigs
garlic cloves 6
olive oil
white bread 2 thick slices
smoked cod roe 300g
mild olive oil about 350ml
lemon juice a little
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Scrub the potatoes then slice them thinly. The thinner you slice them the crisper they will be. I go for the thickness of a pound coin. Remove the rosemary needles from their stems and chop finely. Lightly oil a baking sheet, place the potato slices on the sheet, season with sea salt flakes and black pepper, more coarsely ground than usual, and the finely chopped rosemary. Peel and crush the garlic cloves and scatter them over the potatoes. Trickle a little olive oil over them. Bake for about 30 minutes, watching carefully, till lightly crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
Put the bread, torn into large pieces, in a basin of water and let it soak up the liquid for 5 minutes. Peel the skin from the cod roe and crumble the flesh into the bowl of a food mixer. Squeeze the bread in the palm of your hand then add it to the roe. Beat, trickling in the oil gently at first, then a little more generously, as if you were making mayonnaise. When the mixture is thick and creamy, season with lemon juice. Scoop up the dip with the hot potatoes.
Baked tomato and black olive toasts
The marriage of mozzarella and tomato is a classic, but here they get to meet black olives, too. A threesome that feels somehow right.
Serves 3
beefsteak tomatoes 6
cherry tomatoes 200g
mozzarella 300g
basil leaves 12
olive oil
For the croûtes
black olives 5 tbsp
baguette 6 slices
basil leaves 5, shredded
olive oil
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Remove a slice from the top of each tomato, then scoop out the core and seeds with a small spoon. Halve each of the cherry tomatoes and drop them into a mixing bowl. Tear the mozzarella into small pieces and add to the cherry tomatoes with the basil leaves, which you can leave whole if they are not too large, and a generous grinding of black pepper.
Pile the mozzarella mixture back into the beefsteak shells, then pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil into each one. Bake for about 45 minutes until the cheese has melted and the tomatoes are starting to brown a little round the edges.
While the tomatoes are baking, make the croûtes. Stone and finely chop the olives and mix them with the basil leaves, and enough of a trickle of olive oil to make a spreadable paste. Toast the baguette lightly on both sides, then spread with the olive paste. As the tomatoes come from the oven, tuck an olive croûte by the side and serve.
White chocolate mousse with summer berries
Serves 6-8
For the mousse
green cardamoms 8 pods
milk 100ml
white chocolate 250g
double cream 300ml
egg whites 3
For the fruit
mixed blackcurrants, raspberries and blueberries 100g
caster sugar 2 tbsp
Remove and discard the berry stalks, then put the fruit in a small saucepan with the sugar and a tablespoon or so of water. Bring to the boil, then allow to simmer for a few minutes till the fruit has started to burst. Set aside to cool.
For the mousse, crush the cardamom pods and extract the little black seeds. Grind these to a coarse powder and add them to the milk in a small saucepan. Warm the milk over a low to moderate heat, switching the heat off as soon as it approaches the boil.
Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Do not stir, just push any unmelted chocolate down into the liquid chocolate as you go.
Whip the cream until it will sit in soft folds rather than stiff peaks, and beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. As soon as the chocolate is melted, turn off the heat. Remove from the heat and pour in the milk through a sieve to catch the cardamom bits, gently stirring to mix. If there are any lumps then whisk gently. Fold in the egg whites and then the whipped cream. Pour into the dishes.
Place a couple of tablespoons of the fruit into each dish and stir very lightly, just once or twice. It will sink to the bottom of the dish. Refrigerate for agood 4 hours till lightly set.
nigel.slater@observer.co.uk
