Today I am celebrating the season with three dishes that are perfect for summer dining. To keep things light on a hot day, serve these olive oil flatbreads with a selection of cold cuts and salads. You can whip up my strawberry tiramisu cake the day before, then flip it impressively on to a plate so you can enjoy a hassle-free outdoor lunch. And for a vibrant meal-in-one to accompany good wine and conversation, there’s a crunchy, sweet and sharp chicken and egg salad. Three very good reasons to bask in the summer sun.
Olive oil flatbreads with three-garlic butter (pictured above)
The garlic butter is the star of this dish, combining mellow, slow-roasted garlic, sweet black garlic and pungent raw garlic. The recipe will make more butter than you’ll need for the flatbreads, but it keeps for up to a week in the fridge and is great spread on toast, melted over steak or stuffed into chicken kievs.
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Makes 4
200g strong white bread flour
1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing and drizzling
Flaked sea salt and black pepper
120ml lukewarm water
For the three-garlic butter
1 whole head garlic, the top fifth of the bulb cut off to expose the cloves
1 small garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves black garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
100g unsalted butter, softened
10g parsley leaves, finely chopped
1½ tsp caraway seeds, toasted and crushed
To serve
2 ripe vine tomatoes
2 cloves black garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp picked thyme leaves
1 tsp picked oregano leaves
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6. Put the flour and yeast in a large bowl with a tablespoon of oil and half a teaspoon of salt. Pour in the water and use a spatula to combine. Transfer to a lightly oiled work surface and, with lightly oiled hands, knead the dough for five minutes, until soft and elastic (add more oil if it starts to stick to the surface). Transfer to a large bowl, cover with a slightly damp, clean tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for about 40 minutes, until nearly doubled in size, then cut into four equal pieces.
While the dough is rising, drizzle the head of garlic with a teaspoon of oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Wrap tightly in foil and bake for 40 minutes, until the cloves have softened. Discard the foil and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze out the flesh from the papery skins.
Put the roast, raw and black garlic in a mortar with a teaspoon and a half of flaked salt and a good grind of pepper. Pound to a rough paste, then put in a bowl with the butter, parsley and caraway, and mix well.
Grate the tomatoes on a box grater, discarding the skin, then put the flesh in a sieve set over a bowl.
Turn the oven to its highest setting (250C/480F/gas 10) and heat a large baking tray on the middle shelf. Transfer the four pieces of dough to a lightly oiled work surface and use your hands to stretch each one into a rough circle about 18cm wide and 5mm thin.
Remove the hot tray from the oven and quickly put two flatbreads on it, spacing them well apart. The dough will be very thin, but should have enough elasticity not to break. If you do get a hole, don’t worry: it just adds to the rustic look.
Quickly return the tray to the oven and bake for eight minutes, until the dough is golden brown and crisp. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Spread each flatbread with a teaspoon of the garlic butter, then top with the drained tomatoes and the slices of black garlic. Sprinkle over the herbs, and finish with a drizzle of oil, a generous pinch of flaked salt and a grind of pepper.
Asian chicken and egg salad
I have packed chicken, eggs and potatoes into this to turn a summer salad into a light meal. Play around with the ingredients: green beans, asparagus and peppers will all work as well as the chicken and vegetables listed.
Prep 25 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and black pepper
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
7cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
6 boned and skinned chicken thighs
250g small or medium new potatoes, halved
1 small kohlrabi, peeled and very thinly sliced (use a mandoline, ideally)
1 cucumber, cut in half lengthways, seeds and watery centre discarded
5 limes – 4 juiced, to get 60ml, and 1 cut into wedges, to serve
3 eggs
2 tbsp rice-wine vinegar
2 tbsp mirin
4-5 spring onions, finely sliced into 5cm strips
5g coriander leaves
1 large red chilli, deseeded and julienned
2 tbsp mayonnaise
½ tbsp black sesame seeds
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7.
Put the soy, syrup, oil and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a bowl with two teaspoons of crushed garlic and a tablespoon of grated ginger. Cut each chicken thigh into three strips, then toss in the bowl and leave to marinate for 10 minutes. Lay the chicken on an oven tray lined with baking paper, then roast for 30-35 minutes, stirring once, until cooked and golden brown. Leave to cool, then roughly shred with two forks.
While the chicken is cooking, put the potatoes and a teaspoon of salt in a medium saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until soft but still holding their shape, then drain.
Stack the kohlrabi into piles, then cut into 1cm-wide strips and put in a large bowl. Cut the cucumber into 6cm x 5mm batons and add to the bowl. Add the lime juice and half a teaspoon of salt, and toss to coat.
Fill a small saucepan with water and put on a medium-high heat. Once boiling, turn the heat to medium, gently lower in the eggs and cook for seven minutes. Drain the eggs and, once cool, peel them.
Mix the remaining teaspoon and a half of garlic and two teaspoons of ginger with the vinegar and mirin, and pour over the kohlrabi. Add the spring onion, coriander and chilli, and toss. Stir the mayo into the potatoes and cut the eggs in half.
Using your hands – they’ll act as a natural sieve – lift the kohlrabi and cucumber on to a platter with a lip. Top with potatoes, then strew the chicken over. Add the eggs yolk side up, then scatter with the sesame seeds. Sprinkle with a little salt and serve with the lime wedges.
Strawberry tiramisu cake
This impressive-looking dessert is like a summery tiramisu. It doesn’t cope too well against time or heat, so eat it straight out of the fridge. The espresso adds a grown-up twist, but you can leave it out if you prefer.
Prep 10 min
Cook 45 min
Set 5 hr
Serves 6
850g strawberries, hulled
135g caster sugar
1½ tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp orange zest
2 egg yolks
50ml sauternes dessert wine
80g mascarpone, at room temperature
80ml Grand Marnier
1 shot (30ml) espresso (optional)
150ml double cream
140g Savoiardi biscuits (also known as sponge fingers or ladyfingers)
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6. Line a 24cm x 14cm loaf tin with clingfilm, so it drapes over the sides.
Cut the larger strawberries into quarters and smaller ones in half.
Put 550g strawberries in a 30cm baking dish, then stir in 100g sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste and two-thirds of the orange zest. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway, until the strawberries have produced a syrup, then leave to cool.
To make a sabayon, whisk the egg yolks, sauternes and 20g sugar in a medium heatproof bowl, then set over a saucepan of simmering water (ensure the base is not in contact with the water). Whisk for four to five minutes, until the mixture resembles a thick, foamy cream, then take the bowl off the pan and leave to cool, whisking once or twice as it does so. Set aside to cool, then mix in the mascarpone using a spatula.
In a small bowl or cup, mix the Grand Marnier with the shot of espresso, if using.
Put the double cream and the remaining orange zest and vanilla paste in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip to soft peaks – about a minute.
Blitz the remaining strawberries with the remaining tablespoon of sugar for 30 seconds.
To assemble the cake, pour the roasted strawberries and their syrup into the lined loaf tin. Cover with a row of biscuits, pushing them down so they soak up the syrup. Turn over the biscuits and push them down again, to soak the other side, too. Drizzle half the Grand Marnier mix over the biscuits, then spread the sabayon on top in an even layer. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the sabayon, then pour the blitzed fresh strawberries over the cream. Top with a second layer of biscuits (you may need to cut some in half lengthways to fill in any gaps) and drizzle the remaining Grand Marnier evenly over the biscuits. Push the biscuits into the blitzed strawberries, then turn them over to soak the other side. Pull the clingfilm tightly over the top, and refrigerate for at least five hours, or overnight.
To serve, unwrap the clingfilm lid and put a large plate on top of the loaf tin. Hold the plate and tin together, then quickly flip over to invert. Gently lift off the tin: the cake should release itself from the tin and on to the plate; if it does not, tap the tin gently until it does. Peel off the clingfilm and serve at once.
