Salad days are here again

GREAT SALADS ARE the best thing about summer eating and it’s the time of year when we feel most enthused about putting effort into vegetables and leaves.

Garlic roasted new potato salad

Serves 4-6

500g small new potatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp chopped rosemary

1 tbsp chopped oregano or thyme

4 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely sliced

Salt and pepper

2-3 good tbsps crème fraiche

1 tbsp cider vinegar

Big bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

Pinch of sugar

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees/gas 6. Cut the potatoes in half. Toss the potatoes with the oil, herbs, garlic and plenty of salt and pepper and roast for about 45 minutes. Keep an eye on the garlic and if you think it’s going to start burning, cover the tray with tin foil for the first half of the cooking time.

Mix together the crème fraiche, cider vinegar, parsley and lemon juice. Season well with the sugar, salt and plenty of black pepper. Let the potatoes cool down and then mix with the crème fraiche dressing. Be careful not to break them up. Taste and season as necessary. This salad can be made the day before.

Quinoa and tomato, panzanella-style salad

Serves 4

50g quinoa

4 slices country-style bread (sourdough is good)

100ml olive oil

4-8 lovely ripe tomatoes (approx 400g)

Good pinch caster sugar

2 cucumbers

½ red onion, very thinly diced

Bunch of chopped coriander, mint and parsley

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 small cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees/gas 3. Cook the quinoa in boiling water for about nine minutes, then drain, rinse and drain again. You can cook this the night before and leave it to cool overnight (which will help dry it out even more) and toss it with a good glug of olive oil and the garlic. Cut the bread into chunks, drizzle with olive oil and season. Bake for about 15 minutes until crisp and dry and then allow to cool. Chop up the tomatoes and season with the sugar. Chop up the cucumbers and mix with the tomatoes, red onion and herbs. Add the lemon juice to the quinoa, season well and then mix with the tomatoes. Whisk the red wine vinegar with the rest of the olive oil and add to the salad. Mix well and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Prawn, mango and fennel salad

Serves 4 as a side dish

Frozen prawns are fine to use here, cooked or raw. Defrost them fully. The frozen ones tend to have a lot more water and the raw ones need a good hot pan and can potentially get a little colour on them. The cooked ones don’t even need a blast in the pan, but it’s nice to get some flavour on to them by doing so. But keep their time in the pan brief.

2 tbsp olive oil

Pinch dried chilli flakes

300g raw or cooked prawns

Salt and pepper

1 fennel bulb, very finely sliced

Squeeze of lemon juice

3-4 tbsp vinaigrette (see below)

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tbsp chopped coriander

1 mango, peeled and finely sliced

A few handfuls of mixed leaves, approx 150g

Heat up the olive oil, and add the prawns and cook them for a few minutes before seasoning with the chilli flakes and salt and pepper. Set aside. Finely slice the fennel and season with the lemon juice and a little salt and olive oil. Add the herbs and chopped mango. Toss well with the salad leaves and the vinaigrette and the prawns. Arrange on a big platter or bowl.

Vinaigrette

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp caster sugar

100ml olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 red onion, peeled and very finely diced

Salt and pepper

Whisk the mustard and sugar together and add the olive oil in a steady and slow stream so that it thickens up. Add the vinegar, season, and mix in the onions. Set aside until ready to use.

No-cook, strawberry and lemon curd tart

Serves 8 easily, and will more than likely be enough for 12

You’ll need a 26/27-centimetre loose-bottomed tart tin.

Most supermarkets have good brands of lemon curd available. They are definitely handy to have on hand for this type of last-minute dessert.

250g digestive biscuits

110g melted butter

175g lemon curd

250g mascarpone

1 tub crème fraiche (approx 250g)

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp icing sugar

500g strawberries

In a blender, mix the digestives with the melted butter and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Press this into the base of the tin, in one even layer.

Whisk together the lemon curd, mascarpone, crème fraiche, lemon zest and juice. Season with the icing sugar and taste. Pour this on top of the crumb base and chill for a few hours. Top with lovely ripe berries and serve.

Food cooked and styled by Domini Kemp and Paul Kavanagh

Domini recommends: First Editions is a gorgeous little bookshop, tucked away on Dublin 4's Pembroke Lane, which used to be home to a Sheridans cheese shop. While I lament the fact that delicious food is no longer available from this little mews, at least it has been replaced with another gem of a store.