My ability to mortify even the most vigorous and lush basil plant which comes into the house is astounding. The only answer seems to be to use the plant quickly when it hits its prime, which means pesto, lots of basil scattered on salads and whipped into sundried tomato and basil mash. Most interestingly, it can also mean this delicious sauce, in which basil allies with capers and mustard to create the most sublime concoction. I came across the idea whilst trawling through Raymond Blanc's singularly uninspired book Blanc Mange. If almost all that book is dull, this is quite brilliant. Use it with some poached fish: it is also excellent as a barbecue condiment for smearing on grilled meats (you could use it with barbecued steaks, in place of the Spicy Red Pepper Salsa, below), and as an ingredient in a sandwich with fried chicken.
Basil Sauce with Capers
40g (1 1/2 oz) Dijon mustard 100ml (3 1/2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil 20g (3/4 oz) pickled capers, rinsed and patted dry 60g (2 1/4 oz) fresh basil leaves with stalks, roughly chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
This will make 200 ml (7 fl oz) of sauce. Place the mustard in a small mixing bowl and slowly whisk the olive oil in until well incorporated. (The mustard in the basil sauce holds emulsifying agents which will facilitate the incorporation of the oil. The oil must be mixed very slowly to help the process. If the oil and mustard separate, take a little bit more mustard and start again with what you have done. The best instrument to do this with is a small whisk and not a spoon or fork). Spoon the mixture into a liquidiser, add all the other ingredients and puree finely. Taste and season to taste with two pinches each of salt and pepper. Reserve in a small container. Let us be perfectly honest about summer holiday cooking. One of the key ingredients is the chance to have a few decent glasses of white wine or a few scoops of cold beer at lunchtime. Even better - because it is more venal - is the chance to have a glass of fizz with a late breakfast or early brunch, the sort of behaviour which is unthinkable in the workaday world.
Nothing better matches a glass of fizz in the late morning than a good kedgeree, and here is a very good one indeed, from Joe Geoghegan and Robert Maxon (known as Max), respectively head chef and second chef at the Murphy family's much-loved West Cork Hotel, in Skibbereen. The very simple curry sauce is a marvellous foil for the rice and fish.
West Cork Hotel Kedgeree
400g/1 lb smoked haddock (or you can use fresh salmon) 200g/8 oz long grain rice 100g/4 oz finely chopped onion 50g/2 oz fresh parsley 3 hard boiled eggs 25g/1 oz curry powder 250mls/1/2 pint water 1/2 oz butter 1pt milk for poaching Bay leaf 1 lemon
Curry sauce
250mls/1/2 pint cream 25g/1 oz mild curry powder 2 dessert spoons of mango chutney
Poach smoked haddock in milk with a bay leaf and a lemon; and take out when cooked. Cook the eggs. Melt butter in a deep pan. Cook onion, without colouring, for two to three minutes. Add the rice and cook for two to three minutes. Add the water and curry powder. Bring to the boil, and simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes. By this stage, the rice should be cooked with not too much liquid left.
While this is cooking, make the curry sauce. Put all the ingredients into a thick-bottomed pan and stir, bring to boil, then simmer gently while the rice is cooking.
Flake the smoked haddock into the rice, add the freshly chopped parsley and stir in. Roughly chop the hard boiled egg and mix in lightly to the kedgeree and correct the seasoning.
Serve in an oval dish with sprigs of fresh parsley and wedges of lemon and the curry sauce in a sauce bowl.
Summer Ragout of Vegetables and Beans
The young vegetables and diverse beans of summer are obliging little fellows, all told. You can toss them into a ragout, those podded broad beans, baby carrots, young cauliflower, the little fresh peas, French beans and what-have-you, with some artichoke hearts, maybe some shredded lettuce, and they come out at the end cooked to perfection, without you having to worry too much as it simmers away. Best of all, the technique of a ragout preserves the distinctive, delicate flavour of the individual ingredients. Look on it as a stew of vegetables where the stewing is done very delicately, and where you can use a variety of diverse vegetables and beans. It is not, under any circumstances, a clear-the-fridge cook-up.
As Richard Olney describes the technique: "The composition of these stews depends on the season and on whim and, insofar as they are never twice identical one must, each time, more or less "feel" one's way through the preparation, adjusting the heat, shortening or lengthening the cooking time, and, if the chosen vegetables fail to furnish enough liquid of their own, adding a couple of spoonfuls of water or white wine at one or several points. The cooking time may vary from about 45 minutes in all to one and three-quarter hours or so."
Done right, a good ragout of summer vegetables is one of my favourite summer things. Here is the simplest beginning for the technique, followed by some pointers as to vegetables which can also be added. I have made this using only olive oil, should you wish to avoid the butter, and it works perfectly.
125g/4 oz butter (in all) 500g/1 lb large spring onions, white parts only, or very small white onions 1 garlic head, cloves cleaned of husk but unpeeled 6 medium sized tender artichokes, pared, quartered, chokes removed 1 medium sized, leafy lettuce, coarsley shredded 500g/1 lb small firm courgettes, thinly sliced 1 bouquet garni, including stick celery, parsley, bay leaf and thyme salt and pepper chopped parsley (finely chopped fresh marjoram added if available)
In a large, shallow copper saucepan or earthenware casserole, melt about 40g (1 1/2 oz) of the butter, and add the onions, the garlic cloves and the artichoke quarters. Embed the bouquet garni at the heart of things, scatter over the lettuce, sprinkle with salt, and cover the pan tightly. Allow the vegetables to sweat, by cooking them very gently, tossing from time to time or stirring with a wooden spoon, for about 30 minutes. At intervals, note the moisture in the pn: there should be just the suggestion of a slightly syrupy juice. If the heat is low enough, the lettuce will provide enough liquid without a further addition of water. But if the vegetables are cooking in fat only and in danger of colouring, add a couple of tablespoons of water and incorporate it into the vegetables by gently shaking the contents of the pan.
When the onions and artichokes are tender melt 30g (1 oz) of the butter in a large omelette pan and saute the courgettes over a high heat, tossing very often, for five to six minutes - or until all are just tender and a number lightly coloured.
Add the courgettes to the other vegetables, cover the pan and allow the flavours to mingle for five to 10 minutes. Taste and season with salt; pepper generously and, away from the heat, add the remaining butter, cut into small pieces. Swirl or gently stir the vegetables until the butter is absorbed into the juices. Discard the bouquet garni. Sprinkle the vegetable stew with parsley and the marjoram, if available, and serve.
Note: Young turnips, carrots and cauliflower flowerets (if delicate enough to eat raw) can be added at the beginning. Twenty minutes before removing from the heat, add raw peas or peeled broad (fava) beans. Five to 10 minutes before removing, add sauteed mushrooms, parboiled asparagus tips, trimmed mange tout peas which have been parboiled for a minute, fresh green beans which have been cooked in boiling salted water until tender.
Steaks with Spicy Red Repper Salsa
Barbecues work best when the scent of the coals and the wisp of the smoke works its magic on a good piece of beef. Steaks are also the simplest things to cook on the barbie, and they cause least panic amongst anxious males (inevitably wearing inappropriate shorts and baseball caps) brandishing barbecue tongs for the first time of the year. The other key element of this simple dish is the lovely salsa, which is an utter cinch to make and works brilliantly with the meat. The recipes come from An Bord Bia's barbecue leaflet, no 9. Serves 4
4 steaks, sirloin, striploin or fillet Salt and black pepper Dash of balsamic vinegar 1/2
tablespoon olive oil
Spicy Red Pepper Salsa
1 red peppr, deseeded and chopped 2 large tomatoes 1 small onion, chopped Juice of 1/2 a lemon 1 fresh chilli, chopped 1-2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons parsley Salt and black pepper
Start with the salsa. The flavour will improve if it is prepared in advance and left for 3-4 hours. Place all the ingredients in a food processor, switch on to blend evenly, but not too finely. Season the steaks with salt, black pepper, balsamic vinegar and a little oil. Prepare barbecue (medium high heat), brush grill with oil. Cook the steak according to preference.
Serve with the Spicy Red Pepper Salsa.