It was the perfect summer lunch. The garden table set with large dishes and platters of salads; jugs of elderflower cordial on ice and bowls of raspberries to finish. There was no insistence on when to eat, the cooking was mostly done beforehand, the mood was relaxed for guests and cook. The fact that the sun shone for us was the icing on the cake.
A salad of crisp young beans and another of ripe, sweet melon with baked halloumi; a substantial platter of torn gammon, butter beans and parsley, and another of a fruit-flecked bulgur. To crown it all, there was baked summer beetroot with crisp toasts of white and rust-coloured crab meat. Salads for sharing.
An assortment of substantial salads is often the answer when it comes to feeding a horde at a summer lunch. No one wants to be tied to the kitchen on a day when the sun is beaming down and there are friends to spend time with. Dishes that can be mostly done in advance make sense. There can be a few last-minute tasks: a dish of cheese to bake, a bowl of warm beans to dress, or some little toasts to spread – but the less the better is my advice. On a bright summer’s afternoon, no cook could ask for more.
Beetroot and watercress with crab toasts (pictured above)
Some good things going on here. I love the marriage of crisp toast and rust-red crab meat, especially here with the earthy sweetness of beetroot and the peppery watercress. The beetroots are ready when a skewer will slide effortlessly through them and their skins will slide when you rub them with your thumb.
Serves 4
beetroot 750g, small
crab meat 250g, brown and white meat separated
dill fronds 2 tbsp, chopped
watercress 50g
samphire 50g
baguette 8 thin slices
For the dressing
lemon juice 2 tbsp
honey 1 heaped tsp
olive oil 4 tbsp
Scrub the beetroot, taking care not to split or tear the skin. Put them into a deep pan of lightly salted water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat a little, then simmer for about 40 minutes, till tender to the point of a knife. Drain them, then remove and discard their skins.
Separate the crab meat and season the white meat lightly with black pepper and the chopped dill. Wash and trim the watercress and samphire, shake dry and set aside.
Make the dressing by stirring the lemon juice and honey together, then season with salt and black pepper. Whisk in the olive oil using a fork.
Cut the beetroots into quarters, add to the watercress and samphire, then toss in the lemon and honey dressing. Transfer to a large serving dish.
Toast the slices of baguette, then spread with the brown crab meat. Pile the white meat on top.
Arrange the crab toasts among the beetroot and watercress.
Melon with baked halloumi and basil
Baked cheese, warm from the oven, fragrant with basil leaves and eaten with sweet, ripe melon. The contrast between warm cheese and chilled melon is delightful on a hot summer’s day. You could use feta if you prefer.
Serves 4
halloumi 2 x 200g pieces
fresh oregano leaves 2 tbsp (or 1 tbsp dried oregano)
olive oil 4 tbsp
cantaloupe melon 1 small and perfectly ripe
watermelon 1kg (peeled weight)
basil 20g
Preheat the oven to 180C fan/gas mark 6. Put the halloumi into a baking dish. Chop the oregano leaves and sprinkle over the cheese, then pour the olive oil over the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes until the cheese has started to colour around the edges. It will have softened a little but will have kept its shape.
Cut the canteloupe in half and scoop out and discard the seeds, taking care to preserve as much juice as you can. Slice the flesh away from the skin and cut into pieces. Do the same with the watermelon, picking out and discarding the seeds as you go. (I am not too particular about this, having no problem with the odd seed.) Put the pieces of melon on to a serving dish, trickling over any saved juices.
Pick the basil leaves from their stems then finely shred them. When the halloumi is ready, place the two pieces among the melon, scatter the basil leaves into the oil in the baking dish, then spoon over the melon and cheese.
Gammon with butter beans and radishes
For one of summer’s cooler days, a salad that has its feet in the classic winter dish of ham and parsley sauce. The “sauce” is a cream, mustard and parsley dressing, that coats the fat butter beans and nuggets of warm gammon, bringing beans and meat deliciously together. The pea shoots with their wispy tendrils and white-tipped radishes are there to provide an essential freshness and contrast of texture. This is a salad to dress at the last minute. Too soon and the beans will soak it all up.
Serves 4
For the gammon
gammon about 500g, ready to cook
black peppercorns 8 whole
parsley stalks 12
celery 1 rib, cut into 4
carrot 1 medium
onion 1 medium, peeled and halved
For the dressing
dijon mustard 3 tsp
red wine vinegar 2 tsp
olive oil 2 tbsp
double cream 150g
parsley 15g
For the salad
butter beans 500g, bottled or tinned
parsley a small bunch
spring onions 3
pea shoots 50g
radishes 8
Lay the gammon in a deep saucepan of water, add the peppercorns, parsley stalks, celery, carrot and onion, and bring to the boil. Once the water is bubbling, skim off any froth that has appeared using a draining spoon and lower the heat to a simmer, so the liquid bubbles gently. Partially cover with a lid and leave for about 45 minutes until the ham is cooked through.
For the salad, rinse the butter beans of any bottling or tinning liquor and put them into a mixing bowl. Pull the leaves from the parsley stalks and drop them, whole, into the beans (you will need a generous handful). Trim and discard the roots and the dark green ends of the spring onions. Finely slice and add to the beans. Wash and shake dry the pea shoots and radishes, and toss everything together.
Make the dressing: put the mustard in a small mixing bowl, stir in the red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a little salt and black pepper, then mix in the double cream. Remove the leaves from the parsley stalks, then chop them finely. Stir into the dressing. Stir the dressing into the beans and pea shoots.
Drain the gammon and tear into small, rough-edged pieces, then toss with the salad and transfer to a serving dish.
Three-bean salad
A salad of contrasting textures, deepest green, like its dressing. This is a garden salad, one to be eaten in the dappled light of a tree, on the hottest day of the year. I would offer it with some ripe tomatoes, sliced and dressed with olive oil and sea salt, and slices of warm frittata served in its pan. A practical point: it is fine (and good sense) to use the same water for cooking the beans, but cook the green beans before the broad beans as the latter are prone to colour the water. Warm the bottled or tinned haricot beans just before you toss everything together as they are best when dressed while still warm.
Serves 4
green beans 200g
fresh broad beans 450g (weight in pods)
haricot beans 500g, bottled or tinned
nasturtium flowers optional
For the dressing
dijon mustard 2 tsp
cider vinegar 2 tbsp
olive oil 4 tbsp
water 2 tbsp
parsley leaves 3 tbsp, finely chopped
shallot 1, finely chopped
tarragon leaves 8g, finely chopped
Put a large pan of water on to boil. Trim the ends of the green beans, cook them for 2 or 3 minutes in the boiling water, then lift them out with a draining spoon.
Remove the broad beans from their pods (you should have about 125g of beans). When the green beans are out of the water, add the broad beans and cook for about 7 minutes, drain and, if you wish, pop the beans out of their papery skins (I do this with all but the youngest beans, because I’m not fond of the skins, though it is up to you).
Make the dressing: put the mustard in a jam jar, then add the vinegar, oil and water, then the chopped parsley leaves, shallot and tarragon leaves. Season with a little salt, then seal the jar and shake vigorously to mix the dressing.
Half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil, then add the drained haricot beans. Let them warm through for a few minutes, then drain and toss with the green and broad beans and the dressing.
A few nasturtium flowers or leaves, should you have any, will add a peppery element.
Apricots, bulgur and mint
A humble and sustaining salad, comforting and gently spiced, jewelled with fruit and herbs. This is a riff on a classic parsley-flecked tabbouleh, to which I have added the warmth of harissa and ripe, sweet apricots. A dish that feels both ancient and contemporary, light and yet thoroughly satisfying.
Serves 4
bulgur 100g
pistachios 50g (unshelled weight)
pine nuts 25g
flaked almonds 30g
lemon 1
parsley 20g
mint 15g
tomatoes 400g
apricots 6, ripe
golden raisins 50g
rose petals a handful to finish (optional)
For the dressing
harissa paste 1 tsp
olive oil 2 tbsp
Put the kettle on. Tip the bulgur into a heatproof bowl, pour over enough boiling water from the kettle to cover the bulgur by 2cm and set aside.
Shell and roughly chop the pistachios, then put them in a large mixing bowl. In a dry, shallow pan over a moderate heat, toast the pine nuts till golden. (Keep an eye on them, they will colour slowly at first, then burn in a heartbeat.) Mix them with the pistachios, then scatter the flaked almonds in the pan and toast till golden, shaking regularly to encourage them to colour as evenly as possible. Add them to the other nuts. Cut the lemon in half, place it cut-side down in the pan, and let the surface toast.
Pull the parsley leaves from their stalks, finely chop and add to the nuts, then do the same with the mint. Roughly chop the tomatoes (I like to keep the pieces quite small, but without reducing them to a mush). Halve the apricots, remove their stones then cut the fruit into quarters unless they are very small. Toss them and the raisins with the nuts and herbs.
Make the dressing: put the harissa paste into a small bowl or jar, pour in the olive oil, then squeeze in the juice from the toasted lemon. Mix with a small whisk or, if using a jar, tighten the lid and shake it vigorously.
Run a fork through the bulgur to separate the grains, then stir them gently into the nuts, herbs and tomatoes. Stir in the dressing and transfer to a serving dish. If you wish, scatter a few rose petals over the salad.
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