Get fresh with a summer salsa
Ioften watch the way people buy produce in the supermarket and it’s interesting to see how little attention is often paid to what we are buying.
I’ll admit I’m in a league of my own when it comes to pickiness over produce, but we really ought to be a little more subjective about what we are eating.
At the risk of sounding a bit pretentious, one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen was a woman in a market in Italy spend about 10 minutes choosing one peach over another. I don’t suggest you do the same but, the thing is, the joy of good produce is that not only will you be richly rewarded, but it also never needs much done to it. Quality speaks for itself.
Next time you are buying tomatoes, smell them. If they don’t smell of anything, don’t bother. My absolute favourite tomatoes come from the Curious Croppers. They’re beautiful and interesting looking. They’re real. You can smell them a mile off; you want to reach out and eat them like candy, just as they are. Another favourite ingredient is Clevedon Buffalo’s fresh marinated buffalo cheese.
Half a red onion, finely sliced Large handful each of flat-leaf parsley and mint, roughly chopped Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt and black pepper Olive oil
2 Tbsp capers, drained
4-5 large ox-heart tomatoes 60-100g buffalo curd, or similar soft fresh cheese, such as che`vre
Combine the sliced red onion with the chopped parsley and mint, lemon zest, juice, a generous showering of salt and pepper, and about of a cup of olive oil to create a bit of a sauce. I like my salsa verde nice and rustic; by all means, whizz it up into a finer, saucier mix if that’s what you’re into. Bring a frying pan up to a high heat and add a little olive oil. Let it heat right up and then add the capers. Let them pop and fry quickly until they are lovely and crisp, then remove from the heat.
Slice the tomatoes widthways into half-centimetre rounds and arrange in a single layer on a large platter. Scatter the salsa verde over the top, followed by dots of the soft cheese and, lastly, the capers and any oil from the pan. Serve immediately.
CUCUMBER WITH MINT, CHILLI AND STRACCIATELLA
This is one of those ideas that shouldn’t work, but somehow just does. Fresh, hot, creamy and refreshing; sounds like a bundle of contradictions, but this is one of my favourites of the moment. It’s especially good with grilled lamb – and since it is simpler than just about anything, you could slap it together as the meat rests.
Stracciatella, meaning ``little shreds’’, is a fresh curd cheese, made using a process similar to mozzarella. It is heavenly. Keep an eye out for Viavio – their stracciatella is something to behold.