Saturday supper club

A midsummer get-together

Hi summer… A seasonal feast

Celebrate the longest day with Melissa Hemsley’s simple alfresco feast

Tomatoes simply ARE summer to me, so to celebrate the solstice today it feels imperative to have them on the menu! I’m starting with a simple way to jazz up a tomato salad and make it feel extra special without much effort: slices of peach and an anchovy-garlic oil (which you could make with oil or butter depending on what you have) are the easy additions. For a main course, chunks of corn, halloumi, courgettes and peppers are rubbed with a spiced oil and transformed into kebabs to go with a green buckwheat salad. I’ve been using British-made halloumi-style cheese, such as Yorkshire Dama or Anglum from Kupros Dairy, as the British cheese industry needs all the support it can get. Finally, black-bean brownies are my cold-weather sweet staple, so this week I’m sharing a summer version – a bit like a blondie, using my favourite summer fruit (cherries) and chickpeas instead of black beans. I’ve been snacking on little squares of it for days, and it’s great for a picnic, too.

Photography: Steven Joyce. Food styling: Kitty Coles. Prop styling: Louie Waller