In high summer, I like to cook a little something for tomorrow, choosing the coolest part of the day in which to do it. The idea of waking up in the morning knowing that your lunch or supper is half made is a pretty ace way to start the day. But it is not just about convenience - many recipes are better the day after you have made them. Giving the ingredients time to calm down and get to know one another. A night in the fridge works wonders for some of our best summer recipes.
Chicken with lemon and dill mayonnaise
Few things are more useful than having some cold chicken in the fridge. I sometimes cook a few pieces off in a little stock (breasts or maybe thighs) then leave them in the fridge for those emergency chicken sandwiches or maybe an impromptu chicken salad.
Serves 4
chicken breasts - 4 large ones
a carrot
a small onion
a couple of bay leaves
black peppercorns - 6
For the dill mayonnaise:
egg yolks - 2
groundnut oil - 150ml
olive oil - 150 ml
a knifepoint of smooth mustard
chopped fresh dill - 4 tbs
cooking liquor from the chicken - 3 tbs
a lemon
For the salad:
half a cucumber
radishes - 8 or so
4 small spring onions
2 handfuls of micro-salad such as sprouted beetroot or radish
Peel and roughly cut up the carrot and onion. Place in a deep saucepan with the bay leaves, peppercorns and a litre of water and bring to the boil. I add a little salt at this point, too. Add the chicken.
When the water boils, turn down the heat, remove any froth with a draining spoon, then turn down the heat so that the water bubbles gently. Partially cover with a lid and leave to simmer until the chicken is tender. I usually reckon on about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. Leave to cool in the stock.
To make the lemon dill mayonnaise, put the egg yolks in a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk briefly then gradually beat in the oils, very slowly at first, then a bit faster till it thickens. Add the mustard, dill, enough of the chicken liquor to take the mayonnaise to the point where it will slide gracefully from the spoon, then add lemon juice, salt and black pepper to taste.
To make the salad, peel and halve the cucumber, scrape the seeds out and discard them, then cut the flesh into finger thick chunks. Set aside in a bowl. Slice the radishes, add to the cucumber. Finely chop the spring onions. Carefully wash the salad leaves and set aside.
Cut the cooled chicken into meaty bite size chunks. I always err on the side of them being too large rather than too small. It looks better than an over-chopped salad. Toss the chicken, cucumber, radishes and spring onions in the dill lemon mayonnaise.
Serve the salad on individual plates and top with the salad leaves.
Caponata
Sweet and sour dishes hold great pleasure for me, and none more so than this extraordinary salad of aubergine and tomato. I put peppers in mine - some people do, some don't - and this is one of the very few times I ever peel an aubergine. I can eat this Sicilian dish at any time of year, but especially now, when the sun is shining. If you make it the day before, the flavours - salty, sweet and sour - will have time to marry in the fridge.
Serves 4
aubergines - 2, very large
olive oil
a large onion
garlic - 2 cloves, finely chopped
celery - 2 large sticks
a large red pepper
tomato purée - a scant tbs
tomato passata - 200ml
golden sultanas or raisins - 2 tbs
red wine vinegar - 4 tbs
sugar - 1 tbs
capers - 1 tbs
green olives - a handful
Peel the aubergines and remove their stalks. Cut them into large chunks and place in a colander. Sprinkle them with salt then set aside for an hour.
Peel the onion and slice it thinly then let it soften - but not colour - in a shallow layer of oil. Add the garlic towards the end of cooking. Remove the onion and garlic, then fry the celery, thinly sliced and pepper, cored and sliced, till soft. Remove and add to the onion.
Rinse the salt from the aubergines, pat them dry with kitchen paper then soften in the same pan. As it approaches tenderness, return the onion and garlic, celery and pepper to the pan, stir and continue cooking over a gentle heat. Stir in the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, raisins, red wine vinegar, sugar, capers, olives and 150ml water. Season.
Leave to simmer, gently, for about 25 minutes, keeping a careful eye to ensure you end up with a soft tangle of sweet-sour vegetables. Chill overnight. Serve with crusty bread.
A good paté for summer
A good coarse terrine is a lot less trouble to make than you might think. Especially if you get the butcher to do the mince.
Serves 8 or more
a medium onion
garlic, 2 large cloves
a thick slice of butter, about 30g
fatty pork, minced - 500g
pigs liver, minced or very finely chopped, or a dozen chicken livers, left whole - 250g
a large handful of fresh white breadcrumbs
juniper berries - 12, lightly crushed
the leaves from 4 bushy sprigs of oregano and a sprig of thyme finely chopped
bottled green peppercorn - 1 tbs, rinsed
ground mace - 1 tbs
a small glass of dry vermouth
brandy - 2tbs
bacon rashers - 15-20
bay leaves
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Melt the butter then cook the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the minced pork and the liver, breadcrumbs, juniper berries, oregano, thyme, green peppercorns, mace, vermouth and brandy. Season generously with salt and ground black pepper - a good teaspoon of each. Stir thoroughly.
Line a 1.5 litre terrine with the bacon rashers, then fill with the mixture. Push it down and wrap the bacon rashers over the top, filling any gaps where necessary. Add as many bay leaves - or juniper berries - as you wish. Cover with a lid of greaseproof paper and foil then place in deep roasting tin and pour enough water in to come halfway up the side of the terrine.
Put into an oven preheated to 180°C/gas 4 and leave for an hour and a half. Test with a skewer for doneness. It is cooked when the skewer comes out hot (rather than just warm). Remove carefully from the oven (the hot water is easy to tip over). Leave to cool overnight before eating.
Marinated mackerel
Marinated mackerel is a refreshing, and delightfully retro way to start a meal. I love its startling freshness of vinegar and sugar. It is something to make the day before, to give the mackerel time to 'cook' in its marinade.
Serves 4
white wine vinegar - 150ml
water - 400ml
sugar - 2 tsp
an onion - peeled and thinly sliced
mixed peppercorns - a tbs
coriander seed - 1 tsp
bay leaves - 3
mackerel - 4, filleted fennel
Put the vinegar in a stainless steel pan with the water, sugar, the thinly sliced onion, peppercorns, coriander seed and bay leaves. Add a teaspoon of salt. This probably feels like a lot of salt, but it is quite necessary.
Bring this mixture to the boil then lower in the mackerel. Bring the liquid to the boil, turn down the heat to a slow simmer, then leave to cook for 3 minutes. No longer. Turn off the heat and leave the mackerel to cool. Chill overnight then serve with fennel fronds, brown bread and butter and a glass of cold beer.
Apricots with lemon verbena
Apricots seem to come to life with the addition of lemon and a little sugar. The lemon could be in the form of juice from the fruit itself, or more interestingly from lemon grass or, should you have a plant in the garden, lemon verbena. The latter is my favourite option, but failing that, I am happy to use the juice of a large lemon instead. It would be a shame to sully their shining purity with cream.
Serves 4
For the sugar syrup:
water - a litre
sugar - 90g
12 lemon verbena leaves or 3 sticks lemon grass
apricots - 8 large or 12 small
Make the syrup by dissolving the sugar in the water over a moderate heat, then add the lemongrass or verbena and, as the liquid simmers, lower in the apricots. Depending on their ripeness, they should be soft in 10-20 minutes. Test them with a skewer - it should slide in effortlessly. Leave them to cool in the syrup then chill thoroughly overnight before serving.
· Next weekend... Don't miss our special summer barbecue supplement free with the observer on 24 August with all you ever needed to know from roasts to rosés
