After a few years away from the pass at Soho’s Polpetto, I’m heading back to a restaurant kitchen. Swapping one family for another. I’m sure I’ll look back on this summer as the calm before the storm but I cannot wait to start.
Of course, I follow the seasons as new fruits and vegetables are coming and going on an almost daily basis. Whether I’m cooking for family or for diners at Sessions Arts Club in London’s Clerkenwell there is no reason to deviate when choice is abundant.
Summer starts with tender leafy lettuces and runner beans, and a fleeting show of elderflower. Over the following months, this shifts into deeper flavours, such as chard, ripe, fleshy fruits and the last of the tomatoes.
Stone fruits, especially succulent cherries, don’t last long in our house. Like birds, my children devour them in one sitting, the only evidence being the stained faces and scattered pits.
Clams, lovage, linguine
Lovage leaves are one of my favourite herbs of the summer. Think freshly cut grass with an intense herbal flavour that is often described as similar to the centre leaves of celery or a more complex parsley. Both flat leaf parsley and celery tops work well as an alternative.
Serves six
clams 1kg, net weight, palourde or manila
extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp, plus more for serving
banana shallots 2, peeled and sliced horizontally thinly
salt ½ tsp
garlic 1 clove, peeled and grated
dried chilli flakes ¼ tsp
linguine 400g
riesling wine 250ml
creme fraiche 75g
lovage 1 bunch, or flat leaf parsley, picked and roughly chopped
lemon juice to taste
salt to taste
Start by preparing the clams. There are many ways to do this but I find the best is to simply remove any broken, chipped, open or sluggish clams. Then place them under cold running water and, using your hands, knock them about like they would be on rough shores for at least 5 minutes. Keep removing the water until no grit is visible. Alternatively soak them in heavily salted water for 20 minutes. Store them covered with a damp cloth on the surface in the fridge.
Place a large pot of salted water on a high heat and bring to the boil.
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pot with a lid over a low heat. Add the shallots, salt and cook them for 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Stir through the garlic and chilli, and cook it for a further 3 minutes.
Add the linguine to the boiling water and cook for about 7-8 minutes according to the packet instructions until al dente.
Turn up the heat and lower the clams into the pan with the shallots and add the wine. Cover and cook them for 2-3 minutes, until the clams have popped open. Remove from the heat and discard any clams that are still closed. Stir through the creme fraiche and bring the sauce back to the boil for a couple of minutes. Drain the linguine, reserving a ladleful of pasta water, and combine both with the clams, turning gently to mix them through. Stir in the chopped lovage or herbs and pour over a little extra virgin olive oil. Taste, season with lemon and salt and serve immediately.
Mackerel, tomatoes and olives
Look for a mackerel with glassy clear eyes, claret-red gills and a firm body. Ask your fishmonger to butterfly and bone the mackerel as it makes for much simpler eating, or take on the task yourself.
Serves 4, or 2 if hungry
baby plum tomatoes 500g, halved
banana shallot 1, finely sliced into rounds
taggiasca olives 100g
caster sugar 2 tsp
apple cider vinegar 2 tbsp
fish sauce 1 tbsp
ground espelette pepper 2 tsp (available in good Spanish food shops or Sous Chef online)
extra virgin olive oil 100ml
mackerel 2 x 300g, gutted and butterflied
lemon 1, cut into quarters
Blister the tomatoes in small batches in a hot dry pan for 5 minutes or until charred.
While warm combine the tomatoes, shallot, olives, sugar, vinegar, fish sauce, ground espelette pepper and oil in a bowl. Cover and set aside at room temperature.
Heat a grill or oven to the hottest setting. Lightly oil and season the mackerel all over. Place on a tray and grill for 3-4 minutes until the skin is charred. Rest the mackerel and allow the residual heat to finish the cooking process.
Place the mackerel on a warm plate and spoon over the marinated jammy tomatoes.
Serve with lemon.
Potato and chard croquettes
Hot fried morsels are a good way to start any meal. Large, fleshy, deep green chard leaves have a similar flavour to spinach but with a stronger earthiness that helps to balance the richness of the buttery mash. If, like me, the potato skins are your favourite part, keep them andfill them with butter and cheese and eat while warm with a sprinkling of salt.
Makes enough for 6, any extras can be frozen
king edward potatoes 1kg, washed
green chard 300g, washed
unsalted butter 170g, diced, at room temperature
parmesan 55g, grated, plus some for serving
extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp
egg yolk 1
fine sea salt 15g
lemon zest to taste
whole nutmeg grated, to taste
black pepper to taste
free range eggs 2
milk 200ml
plain flour 180g
breadcrumbs/panko 400g
vegetable oil 500ml, to deep fry
Preheat an oven to 180C fan/gas mark 6. Bake the potatoes for 1 hour or until cooked through. Meanwhile, place a large pot of salted water on a high heat to come to a boil. Cut away the stems from the leaves and trim and discard the rough ends of the chard stalks.
Once the water is boiling, lower the stalks into the pot and cook them until tender for 3-4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the stalks and add the leaves for 1 minute until just wilted. Pour through a colander and refresh both in ice water.
Once cool enough to handle, roughly chop the chard stalks and leaves into small pieces.
Set a fine sieve over a bowl and add the chopped chard, cover with a cloth then place a few tins on top or, alternatively, wrap the vegetable in a cloth and squeeze the chard as hard as you can to remove the excess water. It is very important to remove excess liquid from the chard as it can force the mixture to pop in the fryer.
Remove the potatoes and leave until cool enough to handle, then halve and scoop the flesh from the skins into a large bowl. Mash or use a ricer to create a smooth texture, then beat in the butter, parmesan, oil, yolk, salt, lemon zest, nutmeg and black pepper to taste, and add the chopped chard. Check the seasoning.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe a thick finger of potato mixture the length of the tray then place into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
Beat the eggs and milk together and set aside. Place the flour and breadcrumbs into separate shallow dishes and set aside.
Use a sharp knife to cut the potato finger into 4cm lengths. Place the little batons into the flour tray and shake to coat, then transfer them into the milk and egg mixture and repeat, then into the breadcrumbs so that each one is evenly and thoroughly covered. Best chilled for a further few hours and buried in extra breadcrumbs until needed.
Half fill a deep, heavy-bottomed pan with vegetable oil. Heat the oil over medium heat to 180C. It is best to test the oil temperature with a small piece of bread if you don’t have a thermometer: once the oil is hot, the bread should crisp up and be golden within a few minutes.
Carefully place a few croquettes into the hot oil and deep fry for 3 minutes, until crisp and golden in colour. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a cooling rack set over a tray. Repeat with the rest of the croquettes, being careful to not overcrowd the pan, which would result in a drop in oil temperature and leave them soft and oily.
Season with fine salt while they’re warm and serve immediately with a good helping of parmesan cheese scattered over the top.
Orecchiette, pork, milk and fennel
The pork is slowly cooked until the meat is tender and plump after absorbing all the stock and milk. The orecchiette (meaning “little ears” in Italian) of Puglian pasta cup the braised pork and capers perfectly.
This dish is best finished with plenty of parmesan and, if you wish, a little more chilli.
Serves 6
olive oil 3 tbsp
banana shallots 2, peeled and finely diced
salt ¼ tsp
garlic 1 clove, peeled and crushed
dried chilli flakes ½-1 tsp
rosemary sprigs 2, picked and roughly chopped
fennel seeds ½ tsp, toasted and ground
pork mince 500g
dry white wine 125ml
chicken stock 200ml
whole milk 120ml
baby capers 40g, rinsed
small unwaxed lemon, zest of ½
dried orecchiette 340g
To serve
parmesan 80g
Place a large heavy-bottomed pan over a low heat and add the olive oil. Once warm, add the shallots and salt and cover with a lid for 10-15 minutes until soft but without colour.
Stir through the garlic, chilli, rosemary and fennel, and cook for a couple of minutes.
Turn up the heat and crumble in the pork mince. Stir to separate the mince with a wooden spoon for a few minutes. Pour over the wine. Once bubbling add the stock and half the milk. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook over a low heat for 30-40 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the meat is tender.
Take the pan off the heat and stir through the remaining milk, capers and lemon zest.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 10 minutes or until al dente (reserving the cooking water). Stir the orecchiette into the sauce adding two large ladlefuls of the cooking water to encourage the starch to bind it all together. Grate one third of the parmesan into the pasta and stir to combine.
Serve hot with plenty of freshly grated parmesan.
Ricotta and cherry cake
This is a soft sponge studded with plump cherries. Best served with double cream.
Serves 6
cherries 200g, halves and pitted
sugar 50g
red wine 100ml
For the sponge
free range egg 1, room temperature
yolks 2, room temperature
caster sugar 180g
ricotta 100g
butter 65g, melted (plus a little extra for greasing the tin)
plain flour 130g, sifted
baking powder ¾ tsp, sifted
salt a good pinch
To serve
double cream 125ml
Preheat the oven to 160C fan/gas mark 4. Lightly butter and line a 20cm cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Add the cherries, sugar and wine to a pan and simmer for 8 minutes until glossy but holding their shape. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
In a large bowl beat the whole egg, the yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Slowly add the cooled butter followed by the ricotta to the thickened eggs. Once the batter is smooth, fold through the flour, baking powder and salt. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Scatter over the drained cherries, reserving the syrup for later.
Place the cake into the middle of the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes or (because baking times can vary considerably according to your oven) until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Meanwhile, reduce the cherry liquor to a syrup over a medium heat until glossy and thick.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin before serving wedges with cream and cherry syrup.
Sessions Arts Club, 24 Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0NA
