We tend to eat less bread in summer, and there are only so many breadcrumbs my deep freeze can swallow. I still buy a loaf, to toast for bruschetta, or to dunk in chewy, crisp-crusted pieces in olive oil. The leftovers, of which there are many, end up in classic versions of panzanella and summer pudding but I like to use them in more original ways too. Crumbed and toasted bread can be tossed with brown shrimps and parsley as a coating for soft, olive-oily beans or courgettes. Sliced rich breads such as panettone and brioche can be toasted and used as a base for soaking up the sweet, scented syrup from baked cherries or gooseberries. And then of course there are bread-based recipes that are part and parcel of summer, such as burgers and soft baps filled with crisp fried vegetables, crunchy salsas.
Tomato, green bean and bread salad
As much as I like the luscious bread and tomato salads of high summer, I always feel they need a little contrast, something crisp to balance the softness of the saturated bread. To this end I have introduced, at the last minute, crisp hearts of iceberg lettuce, raw courgette (a mistake) and lightly cooked broad beans that somehow felt out of place. Green beans, crisp, bright and pencil thin, hit the spot, offering a much needed change of texture. At this point, I tucked in some anchovies too, the pale ones preserved in oil, their silver skins shimmering among the summer vegetables and dressing-soaked bread.
Serves 4-6
green beans 200g
bread 200g, light, open-textured
olive oil 5 tbsp
tomatoes 850g, assorted
spring onions 3
anchovies in oil 120g
stoned black olives 16
For the dressing
red wine vinegar 2 tbsp
olive oil 6 tbsp
new garlic 1 clove
basil 15 leaves
Put a pan of water on to boil. Top and tail the beans then cook them for 3 or 4 minutes till tender, remove from the heat and plunge them into iced water.
Warm an overhead grill. Tear the bread into large, jagged pieces, roughly 4cm in diameter and spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Trickle the olive oil over the bread then cook under the heated grill till golden brown.
Make the dressing: pour the vinegar into a small bowl, beat in the olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Peel and very finely slice the garlic. Shred half of the basil leaves, stir them into the dressing and set aside for a few minutes.
Slice the tomatoes and put them into a large salad bowl. Finely slice the spring onions and add to the tomatoes. Dip the toasted bread into the dressing then rest among the tomatoes. Drain, and pat dry the green beans, then add together with the reserved basil leaves. Pour over the dressing and gently toss the tomatoes, bread and dressing together.
Tuck the anchovies, patted dry, and the olives among the salad and serve.
Carrot burgers, balsamic onion and tomato salsa
I like to make crisp, loose tangles of carrot and spring onion to fill soft, warm bread in summer. The small amount of flour in the recipe means they are fragile and need turning with care if they are not break up. (That said, I don’t mind if they do, the little nuggets crisping appetisingly in the pan.) The alternative is to add more flour which I think destroys their delicate nature. A tomato and coriander salsa, kept coarse, makes them sing.
Makes 4
large carrots 325g
spring onions 3
eggs 2
plain flour 1 tbsp
grated parmesan 3 heaped tbsp
groundnut oil 3 tbsp
soft buns 4
For the salsa
red onions 2
olive oil 2 tbsp
balsamic vinegar 2 tsp
tomatoes 3 medium
radishes 6
coriander a handful
Peel or scrub the carrots, then grate them coarsely. (The coarse grater attachment of a food processor works well for me.) Finely slice the spring onions and add them to the carrots. Lightly beat the eggs then fold into the carrot mixture followed by the flour and grated parmesan.
Shape the mixture into 8 shallow patties roughly the diameter of a digestive biscuit, placing them on a baking sheet as you go. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm them up.
To make the salsa, peel the onions and cut them into thin rings. Warm the oil in a shallow pan, add the onions and let them cook for 10 minutes or so, stirring regularly, until they are soft and golden. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, stir for a minute and set aside.
Dice the tomatoes (I think they are best roughly ½cm on each side) and put them into a bowl. Halve and dice the radishes and toss with the tomatoes, the torn coriander leaves and a little salt.
Warm the groundnut oil in a shallow non-stick pan, lower the patties into the oil, letting them fry till golden. Using a palette knife or fish slice, turn them over and lightly brown the other side. They are fragile, so turn in one swift, confident move to prevent them breaking.
Split the buns horizontally and toast lightly. Fold the balsamic onions into the tomato salsa. Spoon a little of the salsa on the base of each bun, followed by a carrot patty, a spoonful more of the salsa, then another patty, ending with a spoonful of salsa. Place the lids on the buns and serve.
Brown shrimps, samphire and sugar snap peas
The method of cooking vegetables in olive oil, garlic and a little water is used day after day in my kitchen. From the first finger-length broad beans in their pods that arrive in early summer to thick slices of pumpkin in late autumn, this method is probably my favourite way to cook vegetables. It also works with courgettes, long-stemmed broccoli and sugar snap peas – if they are young and have no strings. Break one, it should snap crisply with no fine string running down its back. This is a dish that I prefer warm, rather than hot, when the gentle heat from the peas permeates the toasted crumbs and chopped shrimps.
Serves 2-3
sugar snap peas 300g (or mange tout)
garlic 2 young and juicy cloves
olive oil 4 tbsp
lemon 2 slices
hot water 100ml
samphire 100g
butter 50g
breadcrumbs 40g, soft and fresh
prepared brown shrimps 100g
parsley 4 tbsp, chopped
Cut the sugar snaps in half lengthways to reveal their tiny peas. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Warm the olive oil over a medium heat in a heavy based, shallow-sided pan, then add the garlic, letting it fry for a minute or two till fragrant. Remove the garlic, it has done its work (you can put it in the salad later if you wish).
Add the sugar snaps, turning them every few minutes, until they darken a little, then add the hot water, the two slices of lemon and a little salt, partially cover with a lid, then leave to cook until the water has almost disappeared.
Trim the samphire and add to the pan, then immediately cover and remove from the heat. Melt the butter in a frying pan, then add the breadcrumbs, turning them over in the butter till lightly crisp and golden. Chop the brown shrimps, then fold them into the crumbs, together with the parsley and a little rather coarsely ground black pepper.
Spoon the sugar snaps, samphire and any cooking liquor left in the pan onto a serving dish, then scatter the shrimp and crumbs over them. If you wish, add the reserved fried garlic.
Toasted brioche, baked gooseberries
My local delicatessen often has wedges of peel-studded panettone cut into thick slices on the counter. Sweet, vanilla-scented breads I buy to eat with coffee, mid-morning, or to toast and spread with mascarpone to eat as I work. All summer I have been using panettone, lightly toasted, to soak up the syrup from baked apricots or cherries. This week it is the turn of brioche, toasted in a similar manner, but piled with gooseberries that I had baked with a little mild honey and mint leaves.
Serves 2
gooseberries 250g
honey 2 heaped tbsp
mint leaves 6
brioche or panettone 125g
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.
Top and tail the gooseberries, then put them in a shallow baking dish. Spoon in the honey, crush and scatter over the mint leaves and add 3 tablespoons of water. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, maybe less if your gooseberries are ripe, till the honey has melted and the berries are starting to burst.
Slice the brioche or panettone thickly, then toast lightly on both sides. Spoon the hot, soft gooseberries and their juice over the toasted bread, removing the mint leaves as you go.
Apricot and raspberry bread pudding
The moment for summer pudding, with its scarlet crush of poached berries encased in juice-saturated bread, is fleeting. I have used gooseberries and plums in place of the currants, whose respective seasons effectively top and tail the summer. Apricots, with their hint of acidity, work splendidly too, especially with the merest hint of rosewater or orange blossom and a few shredded pistachio or almonds to contrast the fruit-soaked softness. I like to serve this and other summer puddings refreshingly cold, straight from the fridge, with a jug of cream or a tub of creme fraiche at their side.
Serves 6
apricots 1kg
caster sugar 85g
water 250ml
orange juice 250ml
rosewater or orange flower water 1 tsp
soft white bread, brioche etc 200g
raspberries 250g
cream or creme fraiche to serve
pistachios 2 tbsp, shredded, optional
Halve and stone the apricots, put them in a casserole or saucepan with the caster sugar, water and orange juice, and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and leave the apricots to simmer gently for 15 minutes or so till translucent and tender. Remove from the heat, stir in the rosewater or orange blossom water and set aside.
Cut the bread into thick slices, about the same thickness you might for toast, then tear each slice into two or three pieces. Use two thirds of the bread to line the base and sides of a large serving bowl. Add the raspberries to the apricots then spoon the fruit into the bowl, soaking the bread with some of the syrup as you go. Place the reserved bread on top then spoon over any remaining syrup.
Cover the pudding with kitchen film, place a board (or base of a cake tin) on top and a heavy weight, then refrigerate overnight.
Serve the pudding straight from the bowl – this is softer than summer pudding and not something to turn out – with cream or creme fraiche and the shredded pistachios.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @NigelSlater
