I love this time of year. While summer vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers that grow on the vine are still at their sun-ripened sweetest, the likes of beetroot and potatoes, which grow underground, are increasingly back on the menu. It feels like the best of both worlds: still enjoying summer’s goodies at the same time as whetting the appetite for what the next season has to bring.
Beetroot and paneer curry with grated coconut salsa (pictured top)
This dramatic-looking dish is great served with fluffy white rice or rotis. To make it dairy-free, swap the paneer for fried tofu.
Prep 35 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 6
60ml coconut oil, melted
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced (180g)
4 large fresh makrut lime leaves
1½ tbsp fresh curry leaves (10g)
2 green chillies, cut in half lengthways (discard the pith and seeds if you prefer less heat; 10g)
1 cinnamon stick
15g piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tsp coriander seeds, lightly ground in a mortar
3 tsp cumin seeds, lightly ground in a mortar
¼ tsp ground turmeric
400ml coconut milk
340g shop-bought paneer, cut into 2cm cubes and soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes
1kg medium-sized beetroot, peeled and cut into quarters
Fine sea salt and black pepper
220g large leaf spinach
1½ tbsp fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
For the salsa
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 tsp black mustard seeds
80g fresh coconut, finely grated
30g coriander (leaves and soft stalks), finely chopped
2 limes, zested, to get 1½ tsp, then juiced, to get 2 tbsp
Put a large saute pan for which you have a lid on a medium-high heat, add the oil, onion, lime leaves, curry leaves, chillies and cinnamon, and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes, until lightly coloured.
Stir in the ginger, garlic, ground coriander seeds and ground cumin, and cook for another two to three minutes, until lightly fragrant. Stir in the turmeric, all but two tablespoons of the coconut milk, 400ml water, the paneer, beetroot, a teaspoon and a quarter of salt and a good grind of pepper, then cover and bring to a simmer. Leave to cook for 25 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and reduced by half.
Take off the lid, stir in the spinach in two or three batches, until completely wilted, then cook for five minutes more, if need be, to thicken the sauce. Take off the heat, stir in the lime juice and set aside for five minutes.
Meanwhile, make the salsa. Put the oil in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat and, once hot, add the mustard seeds, take off the heat and set aside to cool. Once cool, tip into a small bowl with all the remaining salsa ingredients and a quarter-teaspoon of salt.
Spoon the curry on to a large platter with a lip, drizzle over the two reserved tablespoons of coconut milk and scatter a quarter of the salsa on top. Serve with the remaining salsa in a bowl alongside.
Roast cauliflower with red pepper dressing and grape salsa
The dressing is the star of this show, a celebration of late summer’s finest. It also works with other roast vegetables (which take on an even greater flavour if cooked on a barbecue), or with grilled meat.
Prep 25 min
Cook 55 min
Serves 2 as a main or 4 as part of a larger spread
1 cauliflower (about 1kg), separated into medium-sized florets
105ml olive oil
Fine sea salt and black pepper
15g flaked almonds, toasted
For the dressing
4 spring onions (75g), trimmed
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 red romano peppers (250g), cut in half lengthways, stem, pith and seeds removed
3 fresh San Marzano or plum tomatoes (300g), cut in half lengthways
20ml sherry or red-wine vinegar
For the salsa
100g seedless black or red grapes, quartered
1½ tsp lemon juice
½ cucumber (100g), peeled, cut in half lengthways, seeds removed, flesh cut into chunks the same size as the grapes
3⅓ tbsp (10g) chives, cut into ½cm lengths
10g mint leaves, roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9 and line two large roasting trays with greaseproof paper or similar. Put the cauliflower, 40ml oil, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper on one tray and toss to coat. Put the spring onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, 20ml oil and a quarter-teaspoon of salt on the second tray, toss to coat, then arrange the peppers cut side down and the tomatoes cut side up.
Put the pepper and tomato tray in the middle of the oven and roast for 20 minutes, until the spring onions and garlic are charred and soft. Transfer the spring onions and garlic to a medium bowl, then return the peppers and tomatoes to the oven for 10 minutes more, until charred and soft. Transfer the charred peppers and tomatoes to the spring onion bowl.
Now put the cauliflower tray in the middle of the oven, roast for 25 minutes, until lightly charred and cooked through but still with a bite, then remove and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, squeeze the garlic flesh out of the skins (discard the skins) and put the flesh in a food processor with the peppers, tomatoes, spring onions, vinegar, 30ml more oil and a generous grind of black pepper. Pulse six to eight times, until you have a coarse puree.
To make the salsa, put half the grapes in a bowl with the lemon juice and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then squish gently with a potato masher so the fruit bursts and releases its juices. Gently stir in the remaining grapes, all the other salsa ingredients and the final tablespoon of oil.
Arrange the roast cauliflower on a large platter, spoon the pepper and tomato dressing on top, scatter over the grape salsa and almonds, and serve.
Corn, mussel and cider ‘boil’
This is my take on the New Orleans tradition of gathering around a newspaper-lined table piled with seafood, smoked sausages, corn and potatoes; newspaper optional.
Prep 20 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4 as a starter
100g smoked cooking chorizo, casing removed and discarded and the meat crumbled
3 tbsp olive oil
2 corns on the cob (450g), husks removed
200g pink fir potatoes (or new potatoes), cut into 3mm-thick rounds
½ red onion (70g), thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly bashed
1 celery stick (90g), trimmed and thinly sliced on an angle
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp brown sugar
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
Salt
450g mussels
275ml dry cider
2 lemons – 1 juiced, to get 2 tsp, the other cut into 4 wedges
25g unsalted butter
5¼ tbsp (20g) coriander leaves, roughly chopped
First, make the base. Put the chorizo and oil in a large saucepan for which you have a lid and set it over a medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes, until crisp, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the chorizo to a bowl, leaving as much oil as possible behind in the pan.
Meanwhile, using a large, sharp knife, cut each corn cob first in half widthways and then in half lengthways. Cut each quarter in half lengthways, so you now have 16 “ribs”. (If need be, use a rolling pin to force the knife through the corn).
Put the corn, potatoes, onion, garlic, celery, spices and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in the hot chorizo oil and cook, still on a medium-high heat, for five minutes, stirring frequently to stop anything catching. Turn up the heat to high, pour in 150ml cider and cook for three minutes, until the liquid has almost evaporated. Add the mussels, the remaining 125ml cider and a half-teaspoon of salt, stir and cover the pan. Leave the mussels to cook for 90 seconds to two minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until they have all opened; discard any that do not. Lift off the lid, turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, butter and half the coriander.
Tip everything out on to a large platter with a high lip, scatter the crisp chorizo and remaining coriander on top, and serve with the lemon wedges alongside, for squeezing over.
