In Good Taste: Sum Sum Summertime
"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining,
the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing,
and the lawnmower is broken."
James Dent
Cooking over summer needn't be a chore. Ask for help and get everyone involved. Food always tastes better when you have had a hand in the making. No one is going to thank you for doing a "wreck of the Hesperus" impersonation as you reappear after hours spent toiling away in a hot kitchen. This is a precious time to spend with friends and family, and the food should be as relaxed as the mood. The abundance of fresh vegetables and berries make it all very easy and this simple summer menu can be mostly prepared the day before.
Send one of your guests (or even better...all of them!) into town to buy some crusty bread. Then they need to visit the Anatoki Salmon farm and cast a line. This will keep them busy for an hour or so as everyone will want to try and outdo each other. Suddenly there will be tonight's main course lying on the grass. Have the fish cleaned and smoked while you are at the farm. Next on the itinerary is a pick-your-own berry farm - Nancy Ward's at East Takaka is great. Take a hat; it's hot between the vines, and chat to each other from the different rows. Unless of course you've got your mouth full. Now slowly head home with your bounty.
For serving with the salmon is this lovely salad of Carpaccio of vegetables (carpaccio usually refers to very thin slices of raw meat or fish) and, of course, the crusty bread.
Summer carpaccio of vegetables
2 celery stalks
8 small pink radishes
1 fennel bulb
1 avocado
1 small cucumber, peeled
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Basil leaves
Sea salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese for shaving
Toasted pine nuts for sprinkling on the finished dish
Wash and dry all the vegetables. Slice all the vegetables on the extreme diagonal as finely as you can. Use your best white platter to lay out the vegetables so that they are all mixed together. Drizzle over the oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season and sprinkle over the basil leaves, shaved cheese and pine nuts, as you are about to serve.
The success of this dish is obviously in using the best possible fresh ingredients. Increase ingredients to suit your number of guests.
Manuka Honey Parfait
This is just a posh name for a softly frozen dessert so don't let the word parfait intimidate you. Please note that it does contain eggs that have not been cooked, so this should be avoided if you are pregnant.
5 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
2 heaped tablespoons of manuka honey (or use any other flavour if you prefer)
500ml crème fraiche
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
Assorted fresh berries to serve
Use electric beaters to whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon and honey together until thick and pale.
Fold in the crème fraiche until thoroughly combined and spoon into a baking paper-lined 8x22 cm loaf tin. Freeze overnight.
Turn the parfait out and cut into thick slices. Serve with berries on the side.
Fiona Feasey
