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I'm eating tomatoes on toast for breakfast, strawberries and cream for dessert, and my greengrocers is full of stone fruit which means it's July. Weather aside (London really can be a cliché) summer cooking has started in my kitchen.
In years gone by, I've used these quintessential summer ingredients to try and channel some sunshine into how I felt. I have often found summers in this city tough. Having lived alone for most of them, I'd be plagued with the all too common feeling that everyone was having more fun than me. I spent a lot of time by myself and became my own best friend. When I was working a particularly miserable office job one summer in the months before I went freelance I used to find delight in making the most sublime packed lunches to take to work with me.
Outside in the sun, I'd eat salads like watermelon sliced alongside crumbled feta and little black olives or tomatoes with peppers, cucumbers and sprinkled with sumac. It was the highlight of my day. Usually, with my headphones on and a rapidly filling notebook, I could dream an hour away with food that tasted like a summer spent somewhere near the sea (far from my reality in a strip-lit office in central London).
This week's recipe is inspired by those days and the desire to create a plate of something beautiful for yourself. Write down your favourite meal and your favourite album, pour yourself something lovely to drink, and cook that dish as you listen to the songs that make you happy. All of July's editions of this newsletter are dedicated to summer cooking, not just the food you want to cook when the weather is warm but the meals that make any day feel like the skies are blue.
Thank you for reading and I hope this week brings you all the best things.
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Peaches, Pistachios & Burrata
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These three ingredients would be good no matter what you did with them. The perfume of a ripe peach, the pool of stracciatella inside a ball of burrata, and the almost sweet intensity of pistachios make this dish one of my favourite things to make. You gently blitz the nuts when you make the vinaigrette to really emulsify some of them into the most dreamy dressing. Make a bigger batch if you want so that you can use on all your salads this summer. You can substitute the burrata for mozzarella and although I used white doughnut peaches, any peach will do. Just use really ripe peaches, the juice should run down your knife as you slice them open. When a peach is perfect there is nothing better.
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- Two peaches
- A ball of burrata
- 2 tbsp of shelled pistachios
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- 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- A generous pinch of salt
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Take your burrata out of the fridge about half an hour before eating so the centre is gloriously soft. In a blender add the pistachios, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Blitz this for a few seconds, pausing in between so that the nuts don't get crushed too much. Place your ball of burrata on a plate and arrange segments of the peaches around it. Pour the dressing into the middle of the burrata and it will coat each piece of peach perfectly. Slice open the centre of the burrata and you'll have peach, pistachio, and cool creamy burrata in every bite.
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Kitchen Music
The other day I read this piece called Making the Perfect Cooking Playlist Is Part Art, Part Algorithm by Jamila Robinson and have been thinking a lot about what I listen to when I cook and why. Saturday breakfasts are soundtracked by Van Morrison just like every weekend of my childhood, on lazy afternoons of cooking or baking I like HAIM or Courtney Barnett and for recipe testing days, it's always Nina Simone. Also, Ina Garten's playlist which is heavy on Shania Twain and Dolly.
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Fahima Jilani is the founder and head chef of the Bengali food platform Mosa Mosa. She runs market stalls, supper clubs, teaches cooking classes, and has developed her own range of spices. On top of all that, she is literally one of the sweetest people I know. I asked Fahima about the tastes that make her tick, the snacks she reaches for in the night, and more. I'll be making popcorn tonight.
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What's one ingredient you couldn't live without?
I’ve pondered over this question a lot recently. I was in between onion and garlic, but I’ve come to the realisation that it is garlic. Living in a Bangladeshi household, we mostly eat curry, which contains onions, with garlic and ginger paste as the base. Bangladeshi’s however, cook a particular dish called tenga (a fish curry with a tangy/sour taste) without onions...so this means garlic is the winner. It’s in every savoury dish I cook.
The spice you wished people used more of?
A Bengali 5-spice mix called Panch Phoron which contains: fennel seeds, black mustard seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek. I know you asked for one spice but all of this comes in one packet. You could literally add this spice mix when frying plain chicken and it would taste amazing and balanced. Some people like to grind up the seeds before adding it into their dishes but I like leaving them whole as they add some crunch and also give a burst of flavour when you bite into them.
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Bread, rice, or pasta?
I am Bengali so I think rice is part of my DNA. My favourite thing to eat when I’m feeling under the weather is freshly boiled rice with some salt sprinkled on top. It doesn’t matter how full I am, if I’m walking through the kitchen and I see rice on the side, I simply have to eat a handful of it.
Midnight snack of choice?
If I’m staying up past midnight (weekends only, I know I’m boring) I will always have sweet and salted popcorn next to me. Popcorn tastes better if you shove loads of it in your mouth until it’s nearly overflowing and then you chew and eat. Try it and thank me later.
Most used item in your kitchen?
At the moment I’ve been making a lot of smoothies with my sister’s Nutribullet. We’ve also blended spices and made hummus with it. I love that it’s so compact but still so powerful.
Thank you Fahima! You can follow Mosa Mosa here and shop her incredible spice blends here.
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A week's worth of menu ideas featuring some requests by a reader, Roshni on my favourite vegetarian cooks. If you can't be bothered to cook this week or just aren't in the mood, a snack plate like this always saves the day.
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Romy Gill's recipes always inspire me. I make her Aloo Methi that I recommended in the first-ever newsletter all the time and this Smoky Aubergine Curry is next on my list.
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A good omelette is a complete meal. This Nigel Slater recipe for a Baked Herb and Feta Omelette is an easy midweek dinner that looks divine and uses up the sad herbs in your fridge.
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Denai Moore is such an insanely talented vegan chef (and past feature on Cupboard Companions) and her Vegan Jamaican Patties are perfect for picnics this summer. Use the pastry base for savoury tarts too!
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Last night I made Frozen Watermelon Margaritas and lots of people asked for the recipe so here it is. 1 cup of frozen watermelon, 2 shots of tequila, juice of one lime and a little agave, then blend and enjoy.
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If you fancy catching up on any of the previous editions of this newsletter you can find them here and please pass it on to a pal if you think they'd like it too. If you've been forwarded this email and you want to get it every week, subscribe below.
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