RESET FOR SUMMER

Three tasty recipes that don’t require a kitchen for summer, unplugged.

Are we ready for this, or what? Twenty twenty-one, 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 will keep for at least a week in the fridge or chilly bin.

Homemade mayo is super-quick and easy to make, provided you have a hand 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 oil-based mayo recipe. I like to make mine with 1 cup neutral oil, 1 egg, 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, ¾ tsp salt and ¼ tsp 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 Mexican-style mayo, garlic for a tasty aioli, or herbs and capers for a French-style mayo to serve with seafood or mixed through a potato salad with some hard-boiled 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 ½ cup sugar, 1¼ cup rice vinegar, 8 tsp salt and 4 tsp 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.