I feel like a kid in a sweetshop at this time of year, rubbing my hands (or my tummy, more honestly) in anticipation of all the combinations to be had. Sweet melons, crunchy apples, tender courgettes, soft herbs, ripe tomatoes, buttery leaves: I’m bowled over by the colours, the possibilities, and delighted that, unlike when I was a kid, I don’t need to restrain myself.
Courgette and cantaloupe salad with preserved lemon dressing (pictured top)
Nothing tastes of summer quite like a sweet melon. Use the ripest in-season fruit you can find, and serve as a light meal or with grilled chicken or fish.
Prep 20-30 min
Serves 4 as a side
2 courgettes (about 400g), halved lengthways, seeds removed, flesh cut on an angle into 3-4cm-long pieces
80g broad beans or edamame, skins removed
10g (2½ tbsp) parsley, roughly chopped
½ cantaloupe melon (about 400g), peeled, seeds scooped out, cut similar to the courgettes
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp runny honey
10g (2 tbsp) basil leaves, picked
40g pumpkin seeds, toasted
60g manchego, thinly shaved with a peeler
For the dressing
15g pumpkin seeds, toasted
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
25g preserved lemon, pips removed, flesh and skin roughly chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
Fine sea salt and black pepper
25g parsley leaves
25g basil leaves
80ml olive oil
First make the dressing. Put the pumpkin seeds, garlic, preserved lemon and lemon juice in a food processor, add a half-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then blitz to a coarse paste. Add the parsley, basil and two tablespoons of water, blitz again to combine, then, with the motor running, slowly pour in the oil until it’s all incorporated. Transfer to a large bowl, add the courgette, broad beans, parsley and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then toss to coat and leave to marinate for about 10 minutes.
Toss the melon with the lemon and honey. Arrange the courgette mixture on a platter, top with the melon, basil leaves, pumpkin seeds and manchego, and serve.
Aubergine and tomato salad with feta cream and oregano
This is a great dish for warm summer days. All the components can be made up to a day in advance and the dish assembled (at room temperature) when you’re ready to serve.
Prep 20 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4 as a side
2 aubergines (600g)
80ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1½ tbsp (7g) oregano leaves
250g cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
1 tbsp za’atar
¾ tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp parsley leaves, finely chopped
For the feta cream
200g feta, roughly crumbled
1 tbsp lemon juice
75ml whole milk
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9. Cut off and discard the aubergine stems, then cut them in half lengthways. Cut each half into 3cm-thick wedges and put in a bowl with two tablespoons of olive oil, a half-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Toss to coat, then lay skin side down on a large oven tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the flesh is deeply golden, then remove and set aside.
Meanwhile, make the crisp oregano. Put the remaining 50ml oil in a small frying pan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, fry the oregano in two batches until crisp, then lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Take the pan off the heat and reserve the oregano oil.
For the tomatoes, put the oregano oil, tomatoes, garlic, za’atar, maple syrup and a quarter-teaspoon of salt on a small oven tray and bake for 12 minutes, until blistered and burst. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for five minutes.
To make the feta cream, put the feta, lemon juice and milk in the small bowl of a food processor, blitz smooth, then spoon on to a platter.
Arrange the warm aubergines on top of the feta cream. Gently mix the chopped parsley into the tomatoes, and spoon over the aubergines. Finally, scatter the oregano on top and serve warm or at room temperature.
Butterhead lettuce with apple dressing and black lime crumbs
A great, leafy salad starts with a great dressing. The black limes add an earthy tang that bounces off the sweet, lemony dressing. If you can’t find them (they’re sold in most Middle Eastern food shops), add the zest of a lemon to the breadcrumbs, or use the lighter green Iranian limes. The dressing makes more than you need for this salad, but it keeps in the fridge for up to three days.
Prep 10 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 4-6
2 heads butterhead lettuce, or other tender-leaf lettuce
70g breakfast radishes, trimmed and cut into ½cm-thick slices
For the dressing
100ml rapeseed oil (or other neutral oil), plus 1 tbsp extra
2 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped (80g)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and black pepper
250ml apple juice (not from concentrate)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1½ tsp dijon mustard
For the breadcrumbs
20ml olive oil
50g panko breadcrumbs
½ black lime, ground to a powder in a spice grinder
Start by making the dressing. Put a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of oil, the shallots, thyme sprigs and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, for five to seven minutes, until the shallots are translucent. Pour in the apple juice, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium and cook until the mixture is reduced by about three-quarters and has turned syrupy. Take off the heat and leave to cool. Once cool, pour into a blender, add the lemon juice, mustard and a quarter-teaspoon of salt and blitz to a smooth puree, scraping down the sides as you go. With the motor running, slowly pour in the remaining oil until you have a smooth dressing.
Put the oil in a medium frying pan on medium-high heat, add the breadcrumbs, and cook, stirring often, for five minutes, until nicely toasted and fragrant. Stir in the black lime, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then transfer to a plate to cool.
Arrange the lettuce leaves in a large serving dish and scatter the sliced radish on top. Spoon the dressing over the leaves and serve sprinkled with the breadcrumbs.
