What I've Been Cooking Summer 2021

Over the past few months I have gotten swept up in the currents of life semi-resuming as well as just a bit of inspiration drought. I spent a lot of time in other people’s cookbooks and blogs, experimenting with new ingredients and realms of cuisine. Now the itch to tinker with my own recipes has returned. Summer is a hard one for me to create for. I think I just get overwhelmed with the tremendous amount of produce, and generally left to my own devices I just want to toss together a simple salad, maybe grill some meat and call it a day. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, it just doesn’t feel inspired enough to commit to paper. And so I turn to culinary minds greater than mine. And because there is so much different produce popping up from the ground this season I feel we don’t get into too many habits- except that we cook a lot of mediterranean food. There’s so many recipes to try and only so many dinners, but there are definitely recipes we have been coming back to regularly, and here are a few.

Speaking of simple salads and mediterranean, a mediterranean ‘Village Salad’ is a frequent flyer on our table. I started by using Georgina Hayden’s version in Taverna, but I tend to change it a bit depending on my mood. Sometimes adding romaine, maybe leaving out tomatoes. Dressed with just a bit of lemon and olive oil. I love adding a bit of fresh herbs- mint, oregano, or dill. It’s one of those simple things that doesn’t feel as if it needs a recipe and I almost didn’t mention it here. But it shows up on our table at least once a week in the summer. It is just so delicious and easy to pair. It can even be a whole meal by adding some grilled chicken or roasted chickpeas.

We don’t have an outdoor grill (yet- we are currently weighing pros and cons of a portable grill). Luckily there are plenty of BBQ recipes that don’t require one. This Spicy Pork BBQ from Maangchi is a favourite. I would eat the marinade by the spoonful (prior to the addition of raw pork, of course). Definitely make the ssamjang and wrap those little morsels in lettuce. Savoury, fresh, spicy. Everything I could want on a summer evening.

Pasta alla Norma is definitely in my top five favourite pasta dishes. My most beloved version is from Six Seasons by Josh McFadden, it uses cherry tomatoes and adds a bit of sausage. Even without the sausage this is just such a deep savoury, punchy summer pasta.

Josh Weissman’s Burger Buns. These truly are perfect. We’ve been making burgers and pulled pork regularly because of these babies. They are totally worth the effort in my opinion. Soft and delicious but sturdy. My biggest issue with store bought buns is they seem so eager to dissolve. Might not be worth doing a quadruple batch for a big BBQ but definitely worth impressing a couple friends coming over. But then they will beg you to bring them to their big BBQ so tread wisely.

Taken from Wansfell Pike last month