Summer Entertaining

If I’m honest we have done very little Summer entertaining so far this year, so I'd like that to change.

Life has a way of ebbing and flowing and after a busy period of filming and being away, we’re now on the come down and ready to soak up the summer. Hopefully a couple of sunny days back home and plenty of great food is the ideal reset before the Summer slips away. With that in mind, my cooking tends to go full throttle on flavour and sticks the hand brake on more complicated recipes. This week I have three rather impressive dishes that are perfect for summer feasts with friends but are easy to prepare & present.

Forever popular in our house, particularly after a trip to the fishmongers, is the Griddled Blackened Prawn Tacos with Mango Salsa here. They are topped with quick pickled pink onion slices and a coriander and lime “crema” which is basically a zhuzhed up shop-bought mayo to finish. The perfect balance of smoky, sweet, sour & aromatic flavours all wrapped up in a torched tortilla. Track down corn tortillas if you can, but flour tortillas will do the job too. Place all the components on the dinner table and let everyone build their own - proper summer style eating, get the recipe HERE.

All the elements of this honey butter chicken salad can be assembled in advance and it’s just as tasty served hot or cold. The little spicy sweet & sticky nuggets of chicken are pretty addictive on their own but alongside the crunch of romaine lettuce and tart green apple slices they make for the perfect summer salad. Add salty spiky blue cheese to the mix and you have one of my favourite meals, get the recipe HERE.

A Summer pasta dish is often the answer to dinner with friends and this classic Zesty Crab & Courgette Linguine is wonderful if you can get your hands on a tub of fresh crab meat. A 15 minute seafood pasta which is spectacular eaten al fresco with a glass of chilled wine. Use a julienne peeler to make short work of the courgette and toss through some rocket leaves if you fancy some additional peppery green bite. Get the recipe HERE.