Hits and Misses

My recent creative outpourings have been of the culinary kind but I've been very remiss in taking any photographs, perhaps because I was too busy focusing on serving up the results to my various guests. I'm pleased to say the dishes were very much hits - shame about the missed photographs!

However, I can start with a photograph of the Chocolate Biscuit Raspberry Cake, which I managed to photograph just before the last few pieces disappeared. Raspberries are still in season and this is very simple to make (a bit of a cheat if I'm honest) so I urge you to give it a try if you like the look of it (despite the poor food styling!)

Place 250g digestive biscuits (gluten-free or normal) into a large plastic food bag and roll with a rolling pin to crush finely. Mix with 25g icing sugar and about 50g of honeycomb pieces (these tend to be available in the baking section of your supermarket but can be omitted if you can't find them). Melt 150g dark chocolate with 100g butter and then mix thoroughly with the biscuit mixture.  Press firmly into a 20cm x 25cm swiss roll tin, lined with baking parchment.  Chill for 15 minutes until set.

Melt 150g milk chocolate and spread this over the biscuit base. Arrange 200g fresh raspberries over the top, plus a few more pieces of honeycomb (optional). Chill until set but bring to room temperature before attempting to cut it into about 20 squares.  I didn't do the latter, hence it looks a bit crumbly and the chocolate topping has cracked, but it made no difference to the enjoyment of eating it!

My next culinary creation was a Greek-inspired, three course meal for my parents. It was a post-holiday catch up combined with a very belated Father's Day lunch. I settled on the Greek theme partly as a way of showing that's there's more to Greece than a debt crisis and partly as an attempt to conjure up a sense of summer. Here I completely missed with the photographs but I'm told my parents were still talking about the meal the following day so it was a total hit.

We began with a Watermelon and Feta Salad with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds. Allow about 200g watermelon, 50g feta and 12g pumpkin seeds per person. Firstly place the pumpkin seeds in a non-stick frying pan and place over a medium-high heat for a few minutes shaking every now and again. The seeds will brown slightly and may puff up or split (see photos below). The flavour this dry-frying gives to the seeds is fantastic. Dice the watermelon, crumble over the feta, sprinkle on the seeds, season with freshly ground black pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with toasted pitta bread to help mop up the oil. Simple but delicious - I promise!

'Normal' Pumpkin Seeds

Dry-fried Pumpkin Seeds

For the main course I marinated four lamb leg steaks in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, a teaspoon of Greek honey, a crushed clove of garlic and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint. Marinate for at least 20 minutes, but longer if you have time, before cooking on a very hot, ridged griddle pan for 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove from the pan and allow to rest on a warm serving plate whilst you pour the remaining marinade into the griddle with a splash of water and let it bubble up before pouring over the lamb.

I served these with scrubbed baby new potatoes which I cooked with a drizzle of olive oil in a large non-stick frying plan with a tight-fitting lid. Place over a moderate heat and cook for 25-40 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes, until they are soft. Keep shaking the pan to make sure they are browned evenly. If you don't have a non-stick pan you need to be more careful and may need to add the occasional splash of water to stop them sticking. These were sprinkled with sea salt before serving.

To accompany the lamb and potatoes I made a Rocket, Orange and Dill Salad. Remove as much of the orange pith and membrane as you can and toss the juicy orange segments with the rocket, and chopped dill. For four I used 2 oranges, one cut into segments, the other juiced for the dressing; 50g of rocket; 50g of small black olives, drained and tossed in dried mixed herbs; and for the dressing mixed 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the orange juice along with some salt and pepper. Toss in the dressing just before serving.

For dessert, I served Roast Figs with Walnuts and Yoghurt. Simply take 1 large or 2 medium figs per person. Preheat the oven to 220C or gas mark 7. Cut each fig into quarters but only 2/3rds of the way through each fruit. Squeeze each fruit gently to open them out and then place snugly into an oven-proof dish. For each person take about 20g chopped walnuts and mix with a dessertspoon full of Greek honey. Spoon the mix into the top of each cut fig and bake for about 10 minutes. Serve warm, with a large dollop of authentic Greek yoghurt and an extra drizzle of honey.

Sorry there aren't any photos except for the pumpkin seeds.

This evening I have just enjoyed a salad with some freshly made Roasted Carrot and Harissa Houmous with salad and some toasted pumpkin seeds, which is what reminded me of the Greek meal and inspired me to finally write a new blog post.

From Waitrose Kitchen July '15

The houmous and salad before I threw on the toasted pumpkin seeds

I hope I've inspired you to try a bit of summer cooking. Meanwhile, I'm on a fabric-shopping mission. I'm looking for some denim to make some placemats for the not-so-new garden furniture and some black fabric to make a pair of work trousers using the pattern I used for the navy blue linen. So far I have drawn a blank but will try a different part of town next weekend. Wish me luck!