YOU CAN HACK IT
HAVE A PUNCHY SALSA, DRESSING OR PESTO READY TO TAKE SUMMER MEALS UP A NOTCH. GINNY GRANT SHOWS US HOW.
Ginny Grant with flavour-bomb tricks to ramp up your summer meals
WE ALL NEED a few tricks to make summer meals a little bit easier. I like pulling a jar of something out of the fridge and putting it to good use. Kimchi on a cheese toastie – perfect. The last of a herb salsa tossed through boiled potatoes – delicious and easy. And really, some of the best meals come from sometimes incongruous combinations thrown together in a fit of ‘cleaning out the fridge’. And so it is with these hacks which are brilliant for jazzing up a meal or elevating the everyday. Some are best eaten on the day while others should be fine in the fridge for a week or so. I’ve added suggestions to each recipe to get you started, but I’m sure you will be able to think of many uses for each.
PRESERVED LEMON & ANCHOVY SALSA
MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP / PREPARATION 10 MINUTES
Salty, spicy, tangy and crunchy – what is there not to like about this salsa. It’s perfect to sprinkle over simple pan-fried fish, it lifts up mild-flavoured salads and cheeses and it’s also perfect for throwing in the oven with a chicken tray bake.
1 preserved lemon, rinsed and roughly chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
2 small gherkins (or use 6 small cornichons), finely chopped 6 anchovies, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Combine salsa ingredients together and season to taste with pepper (you won’t need salt). Keep refrigerated but bring to room temperature before using.
GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD WITH WHITE BEANS & PRESERVED LEMON & ANCHOVY SALSA SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 15 MINUTES / COOKING 10 MINUTES
Bashing the chicken out with a saucepan or rolling pin makes for a speedy cooking time and a simple, fast lunch or dinner. This can be done ahead and marinated in the fridge. Pork is also good done this way.
2 large skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced across the grain
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, 2 minced, 1 thinly sliced
2 x 400g tins white beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup white wine (or use water)
½ cup flat-leafed parsley, finely chopped
120g rocket leaves preserved lemon & anchovy salsa, to serve
Put the chicken pieces between layers of plastic wrap and flatten with a saucepan or rolling pin to a 3-4mm thickness. Put into a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the minced garlic. Set aside to marinate until ready to cook.
In a small pan heat the remaining oil over a gentle heat and add the sliced garlic. Add the beans and allow to cook for a minute or two then add the wine and allow to come to the boil. Simmer gently until warmed through, adding extra water if needed. Add the flat-leafed parsley and set aside.
Heat a barbecue or grill and quickly fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side. Put the rocket onto a platter, add the chicken and spoon over the beans and any liquid. Scatter over the salsa before serving.
Try using the salsa over a salad of crisp green cos, cucumber and avocado and serve with panfried haloumi. It’s also delicious over firm-fleshed fish such as kahawai.
For a light starter, cut thin slices of fish such as kahawai or trevally and put into a salad with thinly sliced radishes, the seaweed salsa and coriander.
SEAWEED SALSA
MAKES APPROX 1 CUP / PREPARATION 10 MINUTES
Seaweed is packed with flavour and also has the benefit of being very good for you. I usually use dried seaweed and rehydrate it as I need it (I tend to use Pacific Harvest brand which is readily available). Sometimes I’ll change the seaweed depending on what I have; I’ve used wakame here but sea spaghetti is also good as it has a great crunch. It’s an obvious choice to have with seafood, but this mild salsa also pairs with chicken or pork or over silken tofu.
10g dried wakame
2 tablespoons capers, chopped 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds 1 spring onion, finely chopped
Put the seaweed in a bowl and pour over some water to rehydrate for 5 minutes. Remove from the bowl and squeeze out excess water, then chop. Combine with the other ingredients.
SOY-GLAZED SALMON WITH SPICY SOUR CUCUMBER & SEAWEED SALSA SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 10 MINUTES PLUS 2 HOURS MARINATING / COOKING 10 MINUTES
Cooling cucumber salad with a good amount of heat is one of my favourite things on hot summer days, especially if you can manage to chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Don’t worry if you don’t have time, as it is delicious as it is. There is always a jar of Lao Gan Ma chilli oil in my fridge and it’s perfect to use here.
FOR THE CUCUMBER
2 cucumbers
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ground Sichuan peppercorns 3 tablespoons Chinkiang black vinegar 3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 red chillies, very finely chopped 2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1-2 tablespoons chilli oil (depending on
how hot you like it)
Cut the cucumber in quarters lengthwise and remove the seeds if necessary. Cut again into 5cm lengths on the diagonal. Sprinkle with the salt and set aside for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Drain off any liquid and pat dry.
Combine with the remaining ingredients and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving, adjusting the seasoning as required.
FOR THE SALMON
3cm piece ginger, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 teaspoons maple syrup 4 salmon pieces
seaweed salsa, to serve
Combine the ginger, garlic, soy sauce and maple syrup in a dish, add the salmon pieces and coat well. Leave to marinate for up to 2 hours. Pan-fry or grill for 3-4 minutes on each side or until done to your liking. Serve the salmon with the cucumber and top with the seaweed salsa.
TAHINI GOCHUJANG PASTE
MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP / PREPARATION 5 MINUTES
Gochujang has become such a pantry staple of mine that it now sneaks its way into most dishes where I want a chilli kick as well as plenty of umami. This will keep in the fridge for ages, although I find it tends to disappear fairly quickly. Here I’ve served venison marinated in a little of the dressing, but it also works well as a marinade for tempeh or firm tofu slices which are then fried.
¼ cup tahini
¼ cup gochujang
2 cloves garlic, minced
3cm-piece ginger, finely grated
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
Whisk together all the ingredients with 2 tablespoons water. Keep refrigerated until required.
SOBA NOODLE SALAD WITH VENISON MEDALLIONS SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 20 MINUTES / COOKING 10 MINUTES
5 tablespoons tahini gochujang paste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
400g venison medallions or steak
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 x 200g packet soba noodles
¼ red cabbage, thinly shredded
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
1 spring onion, cut into 5cm pieces
and thinly sliced
1 carrot, shredded
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Whisk 2 tablespoons of the paste with the oil then toss with the venison and set aside to marinate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Whisk the remaining paste with the sesame oil and rice vinegar and set aside.
Cook the soba noodles according to the packet directions, drain under cold water and gently rub to remove excess starch.
Grill or pan-fry the venison for 3-4 minutes each side then set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice.
Put the noodles into a bowl with the vegetables, add the dressing and toss together. Adjust the seasoning if required. Top with the venison and scatter over the sesame seeds.
Loosen the paste with a little water and lemon juice or rice vinegar and drizzle over steamed vegetables, or mix with a mayonnaise and serve in a slaw.
GARLIC SRIRACHA SALT
MAKES APPROX 1 CUP / PREPARATION 5 MINUTES / COOKING 2 HOURS
When your love of sriracha coincides with an abiding love of salt the combination was just meant to be. A little garlic powder in the mix never goes astray. Simple and low effort, this salt manages to find its way into many dishes: it gives a delicate kick without overwhelming the ingredients and its pretty colour makes for a great contrast to whatever you are cooking, especially when paired with some paler ingredients.
100g flaky sea salt
3 tablespoons sriracha (or more)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and gently mix together. Spread out on an oven tray and put into a low oven, stirring occasionally (I used a plate-warmer function at 50°C) for 2 hours until very dry. Cool and store in an airtight container. Keeps indefinitely.
FISH RICE BOWL SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 30 MINUTES / COOKING 10 MINUTES
Inspired by bibimbap this is, for me, a perfect summer-eating dish. The hardest bit is slicing the vegetables, but a mandolin will make short work of it. I like to make a biggish batch of the vegetables and use them over a few days. I eat it with brown rice, but white works just as well. Feel free to add a raw egg to the mix just as you are serving or use raw fish for a hoedeopbap (the fish slightly cooks in the warm rice). I always make sure to serve with gochujang and sesame oil on the side, so each person can adjust the spice and seasonings to their own requirements.
1 carrot, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks
1 small cucumber, halved and cut on the diagonal
¼ small daikon, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
125g mung bean sprouts
2½ teaspoons sea salt
10g seaweed (I used sea spaghetti)
100g spinach
150g fresh shiitake or other mushrooms, sliced vegetable oil for frying
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 teaspoons soy sauce
8 teaspoons sesame oil
2 cups short grain rice (sushi rice is fine to use here although I used brown genmai rice which I soaked for 30 minutes before cooking)
400g fish such as kahawai, trevally or ling
1 teaspoon sriracha salt
1 spring onion, chopped gochujang and sesame oil to serve
Put the carrot, cucumber, daikon, zucchini and bean sprouts into separate bowls. Sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon sea salt and let sit for 20 minutes. Massage well to soften, then rinse off the salt. Soak the seaweed according to packet directions (wakame will only need 5 minutes, sea spaghetti needs 60 minutes). Drain, but reserve the soaking liquid to use as part of the volume of water for cooking the rice.
Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water, drain and squeeze dry.
Fry the mushrooms in a little oil until cooked, add a small amount of the garlic, cook for another minute and set aside.
Combine the remaining garlic with the soy sauce and sesame oil. Drizzle a bit over each of the vegetables and refrigerate until required.
Cook the rice according to packet instructions.
Cut the fish into small pieces and sprinkle with the sriracha salt. Set aside for 30 minutes. Quickly pan fry in oil just before serving.
Put the warm rice into 4 bowls. Top with a small amount of each vegetable, the seaweed and fish pieces and scatter over the spring onion to garnish. Serve with gochujang and sesame oil on the side, so each person can add as much as they like before tossing the ingredients together.
Excellent over oven wedges or other roasted vegetables, sprinkled over avocado on toast or to spice up mild cheeses such as mozzarella or haloumi.
PISTACHIO PESTO
MAKES APPROX 1½ CUPS / PREPARATION 10 MINUTES
This delicately green pesto is easy to make and cheaper on the pocket than using pine nuts. I change the herbs to use what is available: in winter I make a version with parsley and at this time of the year it’s usually mint or basil that is thrown in. The pesto will keep covered with a little oil, but it does darken and discolour somewhat, especially if you are using mint. It can also be frozen in small amounts, just omit the cheese if doing this and add it once defrosted.
1 cup shelled pistachios
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 cup mint or basil leaves, roughly chopped zest and juice of ½ lemon
¼-½ cup olive oil
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan (or use 2 tablespoons
nutritional yeast for a vegan version)
Put the pistachios in a food processor (or pound in a mortar and pestle) with the garlic and some sea salt and pulse to a coarse crumb. Add the herbs, lemon zest and juice and pulse until combined, then drizzle in the olive oil (you may not need it all ) until it just comes together. Stir through the parmesan (or yeast if using) to combine and adjust seasonings to taste.
ORECCHIETTE WITH PISTACHIO PESTO, PEAS, ZUCCHINI & MINT SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 10 MINUTES / COOKING 15 MINUTES
The little ‘ears’ of orecchiette are great for catching the pesto and peas in swirling little mouthfuls. At this time of the year there are plenty of zucchini to hand and usually peas in the freezer. The herbs I change to what is available and sometimes I like to toss in beans, spinach, rocket or even kernels of corn.
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 zucchini, cut into thin rounds
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced a good handful of herbs (basil, mint, chervil, parsley etc) 400g orecchiette, or use penne, rigatoni etc
2 cups frozen peas
½ cup pistachio pesto extra parmesan for grating, if using
Heat the oil in a wide frying pan and add the zucchini. Fry gently with a good sprinkle of salt until soft and golden, then add the garlic and some of the herbs and set aside. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to packet instructions, adding the peas to the pot in the last 3 minutes. Drain, but reserve a cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the zucchini with the pesto and the remaining herbs and toss to combine, adding enough of the cooking water to loosen the pesto. Season generously and serve in warmed bowls with extra parmesan.
Cook freekah in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain well, then toss while still warm with some pistachio pesto loosened with lemon zest and juice and a little olive oil. Grill strips of zucchini, toss in the freekah along with some chopped tomatoes and add plenty of herbs and goat’s cheese to finish.