Summer unplugged

ARE we ready for this, or what? Twenty twentyone, here we come. Before the routines and pressures of daily life ramp up again, it’s time to escape the trappings of everyday life and head out of town. No deadlines, no expectations. In the surrounds of nature, we get to reset and rejuvenate.

The trick to ensure that our relaxed holiday mealtimes don’t get boring is to prepare some dressings and marinades to take along in your chilly bin. If fresh herbs aren’t going to be an option on your summer escape, make or buy some fresh pesto. Puree up a couple of handfuls of destemmed basil with a clove or two of garlic, a good grating of Parmesan, a handful of toasted walnuts or pine nuts, a sprinkle of salt and enough oil to make a loose slurry that you can drizzle over a pot of potatoes, through pasta, rice, couscous or bulghur, thin with oil as a salad dressing or spoon over barbecued steak or chicken. The formula works with any kind of soft herb, even rocket, and will keep for at least a week in the fridge or chilly bin.

Homemade mayo is superquick and easy to make, provided you have a hand wand blender. All the ingredients go

into a jar, dunk the blender down to the bottom of the jar, turn it on and in about 10 seconds you have thick, creamy mayonnaise (you can’t do this with a regular blender — you have to slowly drizzle in the oil or it will split). This brilliant method works with any oilbased mayo recipe. I like to make mine with 1 cup neutral oil, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, threequarters of a teaspoon salt and quarter of a teaspoon fine white pepper. The recipe easily doubles or trebles and keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Once it’s made you can blitz in other flavours — some chipotle for a spicy Mexicanstyle mayo, garlic for a tasty aioli, or herbs and capers for a Frenchstyle mayo to serve with seafood or mixed through a potato salad with some hardboiled eggs and

spring onions.

Take the same approach with a bulk recipe of your favourite vinaigrette and prepare a couple of marinades — that way you don’t need to pack all the individual pantry ingredients.

A jar of pickling brine is useful to make up quick pickles to garnish burgers, salads and platters. Boil half a cup of sugar, one and onequarter cup of rice wine vinegar, eight teaspoons of salt and four teaspoons of white pepper. Stored in a jar — it will keep for weeks. When you want to use it, heat it up and pour over sliced carrots or daikon or onions, then leave to stand for about an hour or up to 24 hours. Drain, reserving the brine to use again.

Here are three great recipes to enjoy that don’t require a kitchen or any fuss. Welcome to summer unplugged.