Easy summer recipes to share..........

BBQ Sauce

Make the day or 2 before your BBQ. Use to brush meat during cooking or as an accompaniment, and also very tasty poured over sausages or pork chops/pork belly and cooked in the oven and then you don’t have to wait for the sun to shine!

4 tbl sp            oil
1                     large onion, finely chopped
2                     cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbl sp            tomato puree/tomato sauce
4oz/100g         soft brown sugar
2 tbl sp            white wine vinegar
1 tsp                chilli sauce
4 tsp                cornflour
½pt/ 300ml      water
                        salt

Fry onion and garlic in oil until soft.  Add tomato puree, sugar, vinegar, chilli and stir well.

With a little of the water blend the cornflour, add and cook for a minute.

Add the rest of the water and bring to boil, stirring all the time.  Add salt to taste.

Salmon en croute

This is a Mary Berry recipe, I made it for a recent family party and everyone loved it.

The salmon was on special offer so I bought 2 large fillets and froze them.  Few ingredients and quick to put together, good idea to make earlier in the day unlike me rolling out the pastry as the guests arrived! 

The perfect summer supper, impressive but easy. Oven to 220ºC, and preheat a baking sheet to get very hot.

 

4 red peppers, halved and deseeded

1 x 375g packet ready-rolled puff pastry

1 large fillet of salmon, skinned

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Sauce

300ml double cream

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tblsp green pesto

2 tblsp chopped fresh basil

Roast the peppers for about 20-30 minutes until charred and soft, leave until cool enough to handle then remove the skins and cut the flesh into thick strips.

Roll the pastry large enough to wrap the salmon. Place the fillet of salmon on to the centre of the pastry, season with salt and pepper, and arrange the peppers and basil on top.

Working on the pastry stretching out on either side of the salmon, make straight horizontal slits about 1" wide, cutting from the salmon outwards to the edge of the pastry. Lift the cut strips of pastry across the fish to form a plait, alternating between each side. Brush with beaten egg.

Carefully transfer to the hot baking sheet in the preheated oven, and bake for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Leave to stand for 15 mins before serving, easier to slice.

To make the sauce, heat the cream, add the lemon juice, pesto and some salt and pepper. Add the basil just before serving to prevent discolouring.

Serve the salmon hot with new potatoes and green salad.

It's Elerflower cordial time.......gather you elderflower heads soon before they all disappear.