Midweek meals: Five tasty summer recipes to try for dinner this week
These recipes are perfect for summer dining
Grilled summer salad
Full of bold ingredients, add this salad to your summer menu
Servings
4Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
10 minsTotal Time
20 minsCourse
StarterIngredients
2 medium courgette (one green, one yellow)
1 medium red onion
200g good quality feta
2 garlic cloves, crushed
good pinch of sea salt
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
120ml extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
handful of basil leaves, torn or shredded
good pinch of red pepper or chilli flakes
Method
Cut the courgette into oblong slices and the red onion into 8 wedges. Make a quick marinade by whisking together 100ml of olive oil, two tablespoons of white wine vinegar and the crushed garlic, along with a small pinch of sea salt.
Place a griddle pan on a medium high heat until very hot, add the rest of the olive oil before placing the courgette on the hot griddle and season with salt and pepper. Cook both sides until tender and showing black marks from the grill. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the red onion to the hot griddle and cook until tender and slightly charred.
Arrange the grilled courgette and red onion on a serving platter, crumble the feta over and drizzle with the marinade. Sprinkle the red pepper flakes over, and garnish with freshly torn basil leaves.
Summery Fettuccine Alfredo
This original recipe for this homemade pasta came from the late Marcella Hazan: it is richly flavoured and gorgeous on its own and can be the base for numerous seasonal additions
Servings
6Preparation Time
40 minsCooking Time
10 minsTotal Time
50 minsCourse
MainCuisine
ItalianIngredients
For the pasta dough:
300g '00' flour
25g semolina flour
pinch of salt
1 egg and 3-4 egg yolks
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp cold water
225ml double cream
45g butter
salt
65g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
freshly ground pepper (4-6 twists of the mill)
tiny grating of nutmeg
Method
First make the pasta. Sieve the flour into a bowl and add the salt. Make a well in the centre, add the eggs (no need to whisk the eggs), oil and water. Mix into a dough with your hand. The pasta should just come together but shouldn't stick to your hand - if it does add a little more flour. (If it is too dry, add a little extra egg white being careful not to add too much.) Knead for 10 minutes until it becomes elastic. It should be quite pliable, wrap in clingfilm and rest in fridge for 20 minutes.
Divide the dough in half and roll out one piece at a time into a very thin sheet, keeping the other piece covered. You ought to be able to read the print on a matchbox through the pasta. A pasta machine or long thin rolling pin is a great advantage but you can manage perfectly well with an ordinary domestic rolling pin.
Cut into strips, 3mm wide.
Choose an enamelled cast-iron pan, or other flameproof dish that can later hold all the cooked fettuccine comfortably. Put in 150ml of the cream and all the butter and simmer over medium heat for less than a minute, until the butter and cream have thickened. Turn off the heat.
Bring 4.8 litres of water to the boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt, then drop in the fettuccine and cover the pot until the water returns to the boil. If the fettuccine are fresh, they will be done a few seconds after the water returns to the boil. If dry, they will take a little longer. (Cook the fettuccine even firmer than usual, because they will be cooked more in the pan.) Drain immediately and thoroughly when done, and transfer to the pan containing the butter and cream.
Turn on the heat under the pan to low, and toss the fettuccine, coating them with sauce. Add the rest of the cream, all the grated cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Toss briefly until the cream has thickened and the fettuccine are well coated. Check seasoning. Serve immediately from the pan, with an extra bowl of grated cheese.
