DURING the summer months we all dream of jetting away to foreign climes, whiling away the hours on a sun-drenched terrace as we enjoy delicious local delicacies and delights.
This week’s recipes will provide you with a hint of Mediterranean flavour, with the lighter taste of the flat fish being perfectly complemented by the fresh tomatoes, olives and courgettes – all of which are in abundance on our supermarket shelves or local farmers’ markets.
Even if it is slightly overcast or raining (hello first week of July in Northern Ireland!) it still tends to be humid, muggy or ‘wild close’ – as my mum might say – meaning we would probably prefer to avoid meals that are too 'heavy'.
Both of this week's dishes are ideal 'lighter bites': the second is a classic summer pudding allowing us to make full use of the delicious soft fruits available at this time of year.
Right, that’s me away to my sun-drenched terrace.
:: Whole Baked Fish
Serves 4
Olive oil
3 potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic
4 bay leaves
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 sprigs each of thyme, oregano and rosemary
2 courgettes, thinly sliced
4 tomatoes, thinly sliced
12 pitted black olives, halved
1 large flat fish such as sole, turbot or halibut
1 lemon, halved to serve
Start by assembling all the ingredients and pre-heating the oven to 180C. Splash some olive oil into a large baking dish. Place the sliced fennel, garlic cloves and garlic into the baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
Next, place the thyme, oregano and rosemary across the cooked vegetables, then adding the potatoes, tomatoes and courgettes across the top. Add the olives and splash with more olive oil, mix well, and place in the oven for 15 minutes.
Then place the fish on top, cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper.
Serve the fish at the table with a halved lemon.
:: Summer Pudding
Makes 6
Vegetable oil
500g raspberries
100g blackcurrants
100g redcurrants
125g caster sugar
10 slices white bread
double cream to serve
Start by oiling six individual metal or plastic pudding moulds. Line with cling film leaving the cling film overlapping on the outside.
Place the red and black currants in a pan with the caster sugar and cook on a gentle heat for four to five minutes until the fruit has split and the juice has started coming out.
Stir in the raspberries and then tip the fruit into a sieve, separating the juice from the fruit.
Take the bread and cut out a large circle from each slice and place in the bottom of the pudding bowls. Cover the base with a little of the fruit juice so that the bread is coloured. Do this for all the bowls.
Next, cut out strips of bread and place these into a bowl with the juice. Place these pieces of bread into the pudding bowls and line the basins. Press the bread into one another as this will form the pudding exterior.
Spoon in the mixed currants and top with the raspberries until the pudding bowl is full.
Cut out another round from the bread and place on top of the pudding bowl. Pour over with more of the juice. Pull over the cling film and press down gently.
Place the puddings on a tray, weigh down with a wooden bread board on top and put in the fridge. Keep the excess juice as you will need this to garnish the puddings when serving.
When ready to serve, open the cling film and turn out. Spoon over the juice and serve with the double cream.
