silverguide.site –

We are at one of my favourite times of the year, but also one of the busiest, with the world seemingly hell-bent on fitting everything in before the summer starts proper. For us, family birthdays abound, with celebrations to organise, cakes to dream up and a constant worry about finding the right presents. Our anniversary is mostly forgotten amid the chaos! What is not forgotten is our deep love of sitting outdoors over long summer evenings that appear to make time stretch magically, languorously. Whether it’s lighting the barbecue or simply turning to my ancient but beloved griddle, a bit of Butch Cassidy-style smoke and swagger is what I am looking for in my food. Chargrilling courgettes brings out their sweetness, and givesthem tantalising, smoky notes, while smoked chillies lend even the freshest salad some attitude. Happy days.

Tomato salad with smoky chipotle dressing and pickled onions (pictured top)

A light, juicy, refreshing tomato salad with smoky background notes and a nutty finish.

Prep 10 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 4

1 red onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tsp caster sugar
Salt and black pepper
500g mixed tomatoes – the best you can find
30-40g mixed soft herbs (tarragon, dill, basil, say), leaves finely chopped
2 large handfuls rocket
80g feta, crumbled
45g slivered almonds, toasted

For the dressing
1 heaped tsp dijon mustard
1 heaped tsp chipotle en adobo
1 heaped tsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
4-5 tbsp olive oil

Mix the onion with the zest and juice of the lime plus that of half the orange. Season with the sugar and a teaspoon of salt, then leave the onion to soften in the citrus juices for 30 minutes while you get on with the rest of the salad.

In a small jam jar, mix the mustard, chipotle, brown sugar, vinegar and the remaining orange juice, season generously, then slowly whisk in the olive oil to create an emulsion.

Cut the tomatoes into rough, unequal chunks – have fun with this: cut baby tomatoes in half and larger tomatoes into wedges. You are looking for bite-size pieces.

Once the onions are ready, toss them with the tomatoes and chopped herbs. Arrange the rocket over a serving dish, top with the tomatoes and crumble over the feta. Scatter with the almonds and serve at once.

Grilled courgette salad with green lentils, watercress and green pistachio macha

If you see any yellow courgettes, a mix of yellow and green makes for a particularly lovely-looking salad.

Prep 5 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 4

150g dried green lentils
Salt and black pepper
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 large courgettes – a mix of green and yellow, ideally
1 shallot, peeled and finely sliced

For the dressing
2 green chillies, preferably jalapeño
40g mint leaves
40g flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tsp honey
Juice of 2 fat limes
10g sea salt
30g pistachios

First, cook the lentils. Put them in a pan, cover with plenty of cold, salted water and add one of the garlic cloves, bashed a few times to break it open. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until just tender.

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Put a griddle pan on a high heat and dry-grill the green chillies until mottled and blackened all over. Cut off and discard the stalks, then put one chilli in an upright blender with the remaining garlic clove, 50ml water, salt, 20g each of the mint and parsley leaves, the honey, lime juice and 75ml olive oil, and blitz. Chillies vary in heat, so taste the dressing and add the second chilli if you want a bit more bite, remembering that the chilli heat will reduce once in contact with the other ingredients.

Once the dressing is to your liking, spoon out a few tablespoons and use to dress the still-warm lentils. Add the pistachios to the remaining dressing in the blender and blitz again to make a loose, nutty sauce. Transfer the dressed lentils to a serving plate.

Put a griddle pan on a high heat (or light the barbecue). Cut the courgettes diagonally into long, slanted, 2cm-thick slices, then toss in two tablespoons oil and season generously. Grill for a few minutes per side, turning with tongs, until nicely coloured all over; they should be just tender, but still hold their shape.

Toss the lentils with the shallots and all but a few tablespoons of the remaining dressing. Top with the courgettes, the remaining herbs, roughly chopped, and spoon the rest of the dressing on top and serve.