Watermelon Salad

Watermelon is in good shape and plentiful in early summer so with your melon baller in hand try making this wonderfully refreshing salad. Serve it chilled as an appetizer.

Ingredients for 4 people

Half a medium water melon (to yield 3-4 cups of melon balls)

A handful each of freshly picked and chopped mint and parsley

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of half a lime and half a lemon

1/4 tsp cumin seed, freshly ground

Salt, pepper, chili flakes, sugar to taste

Scoop the flesh of the watermelon into balls with a melon baller. (It is worthwhile doing this - rather than simply chopping - for the texture and sensation in the mouth.)

Make up a dressing with the oil, citrus juice, cumin and seasoning. Be cautious with the sugar - a pinch may be enough, depending on how sweet and ripe your watermelon is.Toss the watermelon balls and the fresh herbs in the dressing, then chill for at least an hour.

The addition of crumbled feta will make this a more substantial salad.

Grilled Vegetables

This is the time of year for grilling and for getting fit. Invest in a vegetable basket, such as the Weber Style, and do both at the same time with vegetables on the grill. Here are some suggestions for a meal for four people, or a side for several more. Feel free to vary and invent!

The mixture pictured includes baby tomatoes,
asparagus and zucchini in bite-sized pieces.

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1 small red onion
1 small head broccoli
1 cup small brown mushrooms

Marinade

3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large clove garlic
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
chili flakes, salt & pepper to taste

Slice the onion. Slice the eggplant thinly (this is important for absorbing the marinade and because it takes longer to cook) and cut into small wedges. Cut the peppers and broccoli into bite-sized chunks. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and halve them.

Press the garlic clove and mix it in with the vinegar, oil, herbs and seasoning. Add the vegetables and marinate them for a couple of hours.

Heat the grill to 500 degrees. Place the vegetables in the basket on the grill. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring once or twice to ensure they are not burning, but do just begin to caramelize.

Red Onion Marmalade

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
3 large red onions, finely sliced
1 tsp dill seed
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 cup red wine
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Add the onion and dill seed, and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the brown sugar, chili sauce and  a couple of tbsp cold water. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, then add 125ml red wine and 75ml balsamic vinegar.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until syrupy. Serve with Glamorgan Sausages.

Glamorgan Sausages

Here's another recipe handed down from my Welsh ancestors. In the Welsh language these are: Selsig Morgannwg. These simple sausages don't sound like much but they taste surprisingly good, and they will delight your vegetarian guests.

Ingredients - Serves 4 (12 sausages)

6oz fresh white breadcrumbs
4oz cheese (Caerphilly is authentic, but a mixture of Cheddar and goat’s cheese, such as feta, works well)
1 small onion or white part of one leek
handful of fresh parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, finely chopped
2 eggs
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
dried breadcrumbs
1 tsp mustard
salt and black pepper
groundnut oil for frying

Grate the cheese. Chop the onion or leek very finely. Mix with the herbs, fresh breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Beat together 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, add mustard and use enough of this to bind the mixture. Divide into 12 and roll into sausage shapes.

Dip each sausage into egg white plus any remaining beaten egg mixture, then into well-seasoned flour. Chill for at least 20 minutes, then dip into egg again and coat with dried breadcrumbs. Fry in hot oil for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with Red Onion Marmalade.

Tapenade

This is a killer dip or spread, bringing the flavor and sophistication of the Mediterranean to your table. Use the serving suggestions from my Three Dips post. It also has a wonderful affinity for eggs: mash up with boiled egg for a sandwich filling, or spread on toast then top with fried or scrambled eggs.

Note that it is very rich, and quite salty, so do not be tempted to add more!

Ingredients for one bowl

8 oz Kalamata olives, stones removed
2 anchovies (rinse to remove excess salt rinsed off)
1/2 cup capers, drained
1 or 2 cloves garlic, peeled
pulp/juice of half a lemon
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
a small handful of fresh herbs - a mixture of parsley, basil and oregano works well

Place all the ingredients in a food processor such as the Vegemix, and blend until well mixed but still with little chunks for texture. Adjust seasoning with black pepper, chili pepper and/or lemon juice as needed. This keeps well for a week in a covered jar.

Chard Parcels

Chard is not difficult to grow. The difficulty comes in deciding what to do with the copious amounts of chard you have grown, after the first few days of steaming, stir frying and dressing in salads. Here's a nice, easy recipe for packages that make great appetizers or a side for an Asian main dish, but that are also portable enough for a summer picnic. Serve them warm or cold.

2 lbs (around 30 leaves) of Swiss chard
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp fine Japanese soy sauce
2 tbsp peanut oil
few drops toasted sesame oil
handful toasted sesame seeds

Bring 6 pints water to the boil in a large pan. Meanwhile, trim all but 3" of stem off each chard leaf. Blanch whole leaves in water for 3 minutes, in 2 or 3 batches, depending on the capacity of your pan. Try to place in pan with stems in water and leaves exposed, as the stems take longer, and the leaves will cook in the steam if your pan has a lid.

Remove chard, drain and place on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels to absorb residual moisture and to cool. When the chard is all cooked and cooling, press the garlic cloves into a bowl. Add the oils and allow to infuse.

To make the chard parcels: take a leaf, fold the stem in half and wind the leafy green around it fairly tightly so it holds its shape. When you have made all the packages up, heat the garlic-oil mixture gently in a 10" skillet. Carefully add the parcels to the skillet. Drizzle soy sauce evenly over them and cover the pan. Fry on low for 2 minutes then turn off heat.

Transfer packages to serving dish and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.

Three Dips

You don't have to be on a Greek island to enjoy the flavors of the Mediterranean. These dips, accompanied by pitta bread or vegetable sticks, make great appetizers that will go very well with a cocktail. They are also good with my falafel.

Fava Bean Dip

2 cups dried fava beans (Bob's Red Mill brand, for example), soaked overnight in plenty of water
4 cloves garlic
2 scallions
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/4-1/2 cup lemon juice
salt & black pepper

Drain the soaked beans. Put them in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, with the pan partially covered, for about 1 1/2 hours until the beans are tender. Top up the water during cooking time if necessary so the beans remain covered. Tip all ingredients into food processor and process until smooth. (Keep aside some herbs and a little olive oil to decorate your final dish.)

Taramosalata

4 slices of bread, crusts removed

6 ounces tarama (smoked fish roe)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed

3/4 cup light-flavored olive oil

juice of 2 lemons

fresh parsley or cilantro

Soak the bread in water for 5 minutes the squeeze dry. Place in food processor with tarama, onion and garlic. With processor running, gradually add olive oil, thinning with lemon juice, as if making mayonnaise. Stop when you have a well-mixed emulsion. Stir in a little black pepper and some finely chopped parsley or cilantro. 

Hummus Bi Tahini

2 x 15 oz cans garbanzo beans 

1/2 cup tahini

6 tbsp lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tsp ground cumin

salt & black pepper

Drain beans, reserving the liquid. Blend beans, along with the other ingredients and 1/4 cup of the liquid. Process until the mixture is smooth, adding more of the reserved liquid until the desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper, adding more cumin and/or lemon juice to taste.