In the Bag: Cooking the Month of June

Mmm…mmm…mmm. I enjoyed this month’s challenge, with succulent British lamb, new potatoes and broad beans, all in season now.

This is my entry for the event, hosted this month by the lovely Cherry– roasted leg of lamb, minted new potatoes and broad bean puree.

The potatoes were boiled with a few sprigs of fresh mint and the puree was made by boiling the beans just for a few minutes then blending them with salt, pepper and lemon olive oil. Even Rob liked it, and he’s not a bean lover.

The Taste of Summer

Rain is lashing down on this grey and miserable day in June but as far as my taste buds are concerned it’s a gloriously hot summer’s day. I’m eating ripe English strawberries; the epitome of the British summer. Think of English strawberries and you’ll think of strawberries and cream, Wimbledon, Eton mess, strawberry jam.

We may have a love-hate relationship with the British weather, but our climate is perfect for growing soft fruits and this is what makes our strawberries taste so good. Up there with asparagus, they put Britain on the culinary map. They are at their best when they come into season in June and through July, and they tell us summer has arrived - even if the weather doesn’t.

There are a few things you should not do to strawberries, to avoid spoiling their taste. As with mushrooms they should not be washed as they are porous and will absorb the water - so it’s best to buy organic - and they should be served at room temperature, not chilled.

Most often you will see strawberries served with cream and sprinkled with sugar. I personally love them with thick clotted cream, or simply as they are so that I can pick them out of the bag or bowl and bite into their red juiciness. Oranges bring out their flavour, so orange liquor or orange flower water is good to sprinkle over them. As, perhaps surprisingly, is balsamic vinegar. Just a little though. I made the mistake of using too much when serving them to my family once and their screwed-up faces told me what words didn’t need to. They remain unconvinced to this day of how balsamic vinegar brings out the flavour of strawberries. But I have something that may change their minds.

On the Borough Market Tour I attended a week ago we tried some white balsamic vinegar which was deliciously sweet, almost syrupy so. My first thought was that it would be perfect with strawberries and I wasn’t wrong. Use just a dash, along with a sprinkling of sugar, over the strawberries and leave them to marinade until you can’t smell the vinegar anymore. The taste is heavenly.

A Food-lover’s Feast

Spanish ham carved from the bone this afternoon, ciabatta, parmesan cheese, comté cheese and oak-smoked tomatoes; all from Borough Market, along with sugar snap peas, olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping, a few other cheeses and a bottle of chilled Pinot Grigio to wash it all down.

Mushroom and New Potato Salad

The white wine, butter and garlic in this dish bring the mushrooms alive while the white truffle oil deepens and intensifies their flavour.

Never wash mushrooms as they are porous and will absorb the water. Just wipe them with a cloth to remove any dirt.

Boil some new potatoes in salted water. When they are cooked through drain and allow them to cool slightly before slicing and laying them on a bed of salad leaves. Sprinkle the potatoes with sea salt.

Next melt a knob of butter in a frying pan then sauté a selection of good mushrooms, roughly chopped with little ones left whole, with a sliced garlic clove for about 5 minutes. Add a slosh of white wine and reduce down until it disappears completely. Season right at the end – if you add salt at the beginning it will draw out the juices from the mushrooms, which you don’t want.

Top the salad with the mushrooms and drizzle over some white truffle oil.