Guest chef NEVEN MAGUIREhas created these three dishes for his new app, influenced by his love of travel. Domini Kemp returns next week
IN SUMMER I like to eat food that is full of flavour and easy to prepare. It is such a busy time and people want to be out and about when the weather is good. These three recipes are all on my new cooking app, iCook with Neven. I have been delighted with the feedback I have been getting. People love the photos of dishes and demonstration videos and they find the shopping-list function very useful.
Pasta salad with baby spinach is one of my wife’s favourite meals. Amelda likes to crumble a little goats’ cheese on to it. We are growing our own spinach in the polytunnel again this year. It is tender and delicious and full of iron, although sometimes I like to make this with wild rocket for a change.
The heat of the pasta wilts down the spinach leaves. I like to serve this with a nice piece of pan-fried salmon, or chicken would also be delicious. You could also try smoked salmon or simple, grilled prawns. This pasta salad is also good served cold.
Three years ago we spent a month in Vietnam and I loved the food there. It is full of flavour and not particularly spicy – and what fantastic bread. Vietnam is known as the bakery of Asia. Vietnamese beef noodles is a dish I love to eat when I’m feeling a bit under the weather but need my body to keep going. It is like a light, well-flavoured broth and in Vietnam they use pork, prawns, or chicken instead of beef. It is good, healthy food with the great taste of mint and coriander. It’s also a fantastic way of making steaks go a bit further. And it takes no more than 15 minutes to prepare from start to finish.
Coconut panna cotta with mango is a dessert that is always popular when we put it on the restaurant menu. You can make it a day ahead, which is handy.
Panna cotta is a set Italian cream that is almost a cross between a crème brûlée (without the crunchy topping) and a mousse. What makes this so special is the addition of the coconut milk, giving it an exotic flavour. Or you can substitute buttermilk for a very interesting taste. Make sure your mangoes are nice and ripe.
I love to serve this with poached rhubarb in season or with seasonal summer berries.
The iCook with Neven app is available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, from the App Store or at nevenmaguire.com
Pasta salad with baby spinach
Serves four
100g pine nuts
350g farfalle pasta (bows)
50g fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
50g freshly grated Parmesan
150ml extra-virgin olive oil
100g baby spinach leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas mark four. To make the basil pesto, spread out the pine nuts on a baking sheet and roast them for eight to 10 minutes until they are toasted and golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
Plunge the farfalle into a large pan of boiling, salted water; stir once and cook for eight to 10 minutes until al dente, or according to the instructions on the packet.
Place the basil in a food processor with a teaspoon of salt and the garlic, then blend until finely chopped. Add half of the pine nuts and the Parmesan and whizz again briefly; then, with the machine running, pour all but one tablespoon of the olive oil through the feeder tube until the pesto is thickened and emulsified. Season to taste.
Drain the pasta briefly under cold running water. Return to the pan and pour in the pesto, stirring until well coated, then fold in the spinach with the remaining pine nuts and season to taste. Divide among warmed plates to serve.
Vietnamese beef noodles
Serves 4
450g straight-to-wok thin noodles
1.2 litres chicken stock
1 tsp freshly grated root ginger
Sunflower oil, for brushing
350g minute steaks (very thinly sliced)
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
150g baby corn, halved
150g mange tout, trimmed
200g pak choi, chopped on the diagonal into 4cm pieces
1 tsp cornflour
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime
150g fresh bean sprouts
Fresh coriander and mint leaves, to garnish
Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Set aside for five minutes until softened, or as per packet instructions.
Pour the stock into a large pan with the ginger and bring to the boil.
Heat a griddle pan until very hot and then lightly oil it. Brush the steaks with the chilli sauce. Place on the hot griddle and cook for two minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add the baby corn to the stock with the mange tout and pak choi. Mix the cornflour with a little water in a bowl and then stir it into the pan. Return to a simmer and then cook for two minutes until tender. Add the soy sauce and lime juice, stirring to combine.
To serve, drain the noodles and divide them among warmed bowls. Add the bean sprouts and ladle over the flavoured stock. Thinly slice the rested steaks and add to the bowls. Scatter coriander and mint leaves on top.
Coconut panna cotta with mango
Serves 6
1 vanilla pod
4 gelatine leaves
500ml cream
100ml coconut milk
100g caster sugar
1 large ripe mango
Handful raspberries
Fresh mint sprigs, to decorate
To make the panna cotta, split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Put the gelatine leaves into a bowl of cold water and leave them to soak for 10 minutes.
Put the cream, coconut milk, caster sugar and scraped out vanilla seeds into a pan and slowly bring up to the boil. Take the pan off the heat, gently squeeze the soaked gelatine leaves dry and add to the pan, whisking continuously until they have dissolved. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a measuring jug.
Divide the mixture equally between six 150ml dariole moulds or ramekins. Place them on a baking tray and leave them to set in a fridge for at least three hours, or up to two days is fine.
Meanwhile, peel the mango and cut the flesh into even-sized thin slices, discarding the stone. Place on a plate, then cover with clingfilm and chill until needed.
To serve, unmould the panna cotta by dipping them briefly into hot water and arrange on plates.
Decorate with the mango slices, raspberries and mint to serve.
