summer chicken

this was a very simple supper, created to showcase some teeny tiny potatoes that a friend provided me with from her garden. this is my first home grown (albeit not by me!) garden produce of the year and given how feeble my courgette and tomato plants are looking, it might be the last!

the potatoes were mixed with slices of both fennel and red pepper plus some shallots, garlic and chilli before being tossed with olive oil and lemon juice. the squeezed lemon halves were then cut into small pieces (1-2 cm) and they were added to the roasting tray too (they caramelise as they cook and taste delicious – eat the whole lot), along with my seasoned chicken thighs, to be roasted for 30-40 mins at 200c.

the accompaniments were asparagus (just boiled) and courgette chunks which i fried with garlic, chilli and strips of sundried tomatoes until they softened. very easy and very delicious.

spring salmon with lemon, basil and broccoli

the weather in london was wonderful this weekend – bright, mild and dry which meant i got to spend a couple of hours in the garden, tidying it up after several wintery months of neglect. and then we had a late lunch, outside, while we enjoyed the final bits of sunshine – so exciting to be eating in the garden again!

this dish was inspired by a lovely lunch that friends cooked for us last week. in an ovenproof dish i put chopped chilli and garlic, tenderstem broccoli, chunks of red peppers, cherry tomatoes, the juice of a lemon plus the squeezed lemon cut into chunks, a couple of chopped anchovies, some capers, a handful of basil leaves plus a glug of both white wine and olive oil. oh, and some black pepper.

i cooked this for 10 minutes at 180c and then added my salmon, which was wrapped in smoked pancetta, and cooked it for another 15 minutes. a final few minutes under the grill to crisp up the pancetta and it was done. serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices.

bergamot curd

having added a twist of bergamot curd to a vesper martini (such a sophisticated flavour and a killer strength drink!) the last of my bergamots were put to good use and turned into bergamot curd.

i used delia smith’s lemon curd recipe, just substituting half the lemon zest and all the lemon juice for bergamot zest and juice.

the resulting curd was intensely aromatic – dipping a spoon into the jar was almost too much but spread on fresh buttered bread (i have to have curd on bread rather than toast, which just feels wrong) the flavours was just right and i think this would also work really well as the filling, with cream, for a victoria sponge.

the wonderful colour is the result of the rich orange yolks of my eggs – burford browns, one of my favourites.

citrus salts

 

my second bergamot adventure was to use it for citrus salts. i read about these on these on 101 cookbooks and they are very exciting!

the idea is to mix flakey sea salt with citrus zest, dry it out in the oven so that the zest is completely dry and will crumble when rubbed between your fingers, and then use these to add an extra layer of flavour to your dishes, adding the salt at the table.

i used bergamot, blood orange and lime zests and, as a result, now have little jars of citrus salt that i can play with in various dishes. the first was used last night – blood orange salt to season a confit duck, fennel and blood orange salad. just wonderful.

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lemon and polenta cake

 

i had a couple of eggs that needed using up and fancied something a treat. a friend had been raving about this lemon and polenta cake and despite not having enough eggs to make the full recipe (i made a 2/3 version) i decided to give it a go.

i wasn’t sure about it to begin with – i think my lack of patience (greediness), which meant i cut it while it was still warm which resulted in it crumbling, put me off. however, once it cooled it sliced beautifully and the flavours and texture actually improved with time - in future i think i’d try and make this the day before serving (it’s a lovely moist cake so you don’t need to worry about it drying out).

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