Made a very simple but rather pretty(and very delicious) meal the other day that was just right for one of those hot summer days when you don't feel like standing in front of a hot stove for hours. (Mind you, we haven't had all that many hot days just recently!) It suits an everyday meal well, but is also good-looking enough to go down well as dinner with friends.
So here's what it is:
Entrée:
Half a good tomato, sliced in half, the flesh scooped out and chopped into pieces and mixed with chopped herbs, Spanish onion, and prosciutto, the mix then pushed back into the tomato shell and served on top of a 'mache' salad(corn salad as it's known in English) or just ordinary green lettuce of you don't have mache. I love mache, which is obtainable everywhere in France where it's a very common salad ingredient--it's much more difficult to get here, but David managed to get some to grow this year, to my great delight(in the past it's proven rather difficult to get going going) The whole thing was set off with some slightly steamed and cooled asparagus spears that had popped up for no particular reason in the garden(you don't usually see new ones till spring.) Of course I also drizzled some vinaigrette dressing on the salad as well.
Main course:
White fish with a herb, lemon and caper sauce:
Cook the fish(I used barrumundi) in a little oil in a non-stick pan, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Meanwhile mix chopped garlic, chopped basil and lemon thyme, grated lemon rind, lemon juice, salt, peppers and capers in a bowl, adding a little olive oil to make a nice thick sauce. When the fish is nearly cooked, pour this sauce onto it, stir for a few seconds, then serve the fish with the sauce on top.
Couscous and pomegranate salad(adapted this from a recipe of my daughter's)
Make some couscous according to instructions on packet, cool a little. Add the juice and seeds of a pomegranate, some chopped mint, salt, a little chopped garlic, chopped Spanish onion, some olive oil and lemon juice to the couscous and stir well till properly mixed. You can serve the salad slightly warm or cold, it's lovely either way.
Dessert:
We just had juicy white peaches fresh off the tree. Fantastic! This meal would also go well with a berry fool or mousse.
Made a very simple but rather pretty(and very delicious) meal the other day that was just right for one of those hot summer days when you don't feel like standing in front of a hot stove for hours. (Mind you, we haven't had all that many hot days just recently!) It suits an everyday meal well, but is also good-looking enough to go down well as dinner with friends.
So here's what it is:
Entrée:
Half a good tomato, sliced in half, the flesh scooped out and chopped into pieces and mixed with chopped herbs, Spanish onion, and prosciutto, the mix then pushed back into the tomato shell and served on top of a 'mache' salad(corn salad as it's known in English) or just ordinary green lettuce of you don't have mache. I love mache, which is obtainable everywhere in France where it's a very common salad ingredient--it's much more difficult to get here, but David managed to get some to grow this year, to my great delight(in the past it's proven rather difficult to get going going) The whole thing was set off with some slightly steamed and cooled asparagus spears that had popped up for no particular reason in the garden(you don't usually see new ones till spring.) Of course I also drizzled some vinaigrette dressing on the salad as well.
Main course:
White fish with a herb, lemon and caper sauce:
Cook the fish(I used barrumundi) in a little oil in a non-stick pan, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Meanwhile mix chopped garlic, chopped basil and lemon thyme, grated lemon rind, lemon juice, salt, peppers and capers in a bowl, adding a little olive oil to make a nice thick sauce. When the fish is nearly cooked, pour this sauce onto it, stir for a few seconds, then serve the fish with the sauce on top.
Couscous and pomegranate salad(adapted this from a recipe of my daughter's)
Make some couscous according to instructions on packet, cool a little. Add the juice and seeds of a pomegranate, some chopped mint, salt, a little chopped garlic, chopped Spanish onion, some olive oil and lemon juice to the couscous and stir well till properly mixed. You can serve the salad slightly warm or cold, it's lovely either way.
Dessert:
We just had juicy white peaches fresh off the tree. Fantastic! This meal would also go well with a berry fool or mousse.
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