A Summer Feast to Remember

A Summer-themed Feast

Last weekend, we were invited to a friend's house for dinner. This is a story worth regaling as there were so many lessons worth keeping, not just for the munificence of the feast we had but for how organizing a dinner in summer can be so glaringly simple if we can manage to skip the frills with grace. The key to doing that is to plan a meal using hand-picked ingredients that get along famously to release fresh, sublime flavours without much effort on your part.

Our gracious host, Vidya Nath, was kind enough to offer us a delightful peek into her kitchen to learn the secrets of her divine cooking. Like a seasoned host, she set the tempo of the evening, jiving effortlessly from one culinary wonder to another, while also swaying to some good old hip-hop and bhangra numbers and keeping us entertained. Peaches, my daughter, had a ball of a time gorging down bananas one after the other; the anticipation of good food with all the heavenly smells coming from Vidya's kitchen was playing havoc with her otherwise bird-like appetite.

Speaking of appetite, I don't have much of it during summers. You know how it gets really tedious and overbearing to see through the preparation of stove top curries in this oppressive summer heat... By the time, you finish cooking and get to the part where you can go 'mmm mmm' and pat yourself on the back, you already feel full. You head for a cool shower instead. And if you're from Mumbai, add frizzy hair, nausea and delirium to your state of affairs :).

Our hostess and chef for the evening led us to her beautiful kitchen, where she orchestrated her mid-summer symphony. It was a homey, organized space adorned with plants and stacks of fresh green herbs and fruits and vegetables in a refreshing colour palette. I guess just the look of it brought the temperature down a couple of notches.

This was a summer-themed platter of food that she had carefully planned using exotic herbs and fresh fruits and vegetables; light, airy flavours evocative of the Mediterranean. Each dish that she created was unique in its own right but it also blended so well with its accomplices that we had to take multiple servings just to revel in all the glorious possibilities.

I can go on raving about the food and the company and the simple fact that kids and adults ate and digested at the same time—that, my friend, is a rare phenomenon in my home :).

Without any further rants, I give to you a breezy, romantic summer platter as prepared by the multi-talented chef, Vidya Nath, served with a dash of imagination and dollops of love.

I. The Sides:

Yoghurt Dip with Beetroot and Dill

Yoghurt Dip With Beetroot and Dill

Serves 4
What You Need:
500 gms Hung Curd (left in a muslin for an hour)
2-3 garlic pods (peeled)
Dill - 3/4 cup (finely chopped)
Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste
4-5 tablespoons Beetroot Puree (we used shop-bought)
Olive Oil: 1/3 cup
Lemon Juice: 2 tablespoons
Chopped Parsley

Method:
1. Place the garlic in a mortar and pestle with some salt and mash it. You may even finely dice the garlic pods.
2. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt with it. Whisk in the hung curd.
3. Now add the dill to it and mix well. Add freshly ground pepper.
4. Layer it with the beetroot puree. Garnish with chopper parsley.
5. Refrigerate till it's time to be served.
6. Serve with bread or lavash.

Tip: This dip can serve your family for 2-3 days if kept refrigerated in an air-tight jar.

Seasoned Olives

Seasoned Olives

What You Need:
2 cups black olives
4 tablespoons light olive oil
2-3 garlic pods - minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup parsley leaves - finely chopped
Chilli flakes (optional)
Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Combine olives, lime juice, garlic, oil, pepper, chilli flakes and chopped up parsley in a bowl. Stir it well. Cover with a foil and refrigerate until it is to be served.
2. Serve with pita bread, lavash or any italian bread.
Tip: For extra tang, add some lemon zest to it. This can be refrigerated and used for up to 2-3 days.

Asparagus Spears with Lemon-Caper Butter

Asparagus Spears with Caper Butter

Lemon-Caper Butter
What You Need:
4 tablespoons butter - melted
1 tablespoon capers -mashed
1 lemon- squeezed
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a pan until golden.
2. Remove it from heat. Add mashed capers, lime juice, salt and pepper. Blend vigorously with a spoon until the sauce is foamy and thick.
3. Transfer to a bowl and serve with asparagus spears.

Asparagus Spears
What You Need:
6-7 Asparagus Spears
Water
Ice Cubes

1. Stem ends of the asparagus together and cut off one inch off the stems.
2. In a large pan, bring some water to boil.
3. Add the asparagus spears to the water and let it cook covered for no more than three minutes.
4. Drain them in a colander and refresh with ice cubes.
5. Serve immediately with lemon-caper butter else they'll go limp.

Tip: Asparagus can easily cross the line from being perfectly cooked to overdone. Make sure you give it your full attention while cooking it.

Herbed Cous-Cous (Tabouleh Style)

Cous-Cous Tabouleh Style

What You Need:
2 cups fine cous-cous
2 maggi stock cubes
3 cups water
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon roasted coriander seeds (optional)
Coriander to garnish
Parsley to garnish

1. Add maggi stock cubes to water and bring it to boil.
2. In a bowl, toss the couscous in with the olive oil.
3. Slowly, pour in the boiling hot water, stirring vigorously to let it fluff. You can fluff it with your hands too to avoid lumping.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and roasted sesame seeds.
5. You can also season it with chilli flakes and mixed herbs for flavor.
5. When the couscous is all fluffed up and soft, garnish with pomegranate seeds, coriander and parsley.

II. Mains

Summery Watermelon Salad with Parmesan and Mint

Watermelon Salad with Parmesan and Mint

What You Need:
Watermelon cut into 4-inch triangles and deseeded - 10-12
Parmesan Cheese - grated 1/2 cup
Olive Oil - 1/2 cup
Juice of 2 lemons
Thick Curd (or Greek Yoghurt) - 1 cup
Mint sprigs - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Toasted pumpkin seeds - 2 tablespoons

1. Prepare a salad dressing. Mix olive oil, yoghurt, pepper and salt. Blend well.
2. Add grated parmesan cheese into it while stirring continuously.
3. Arrange watermelon slices on a plate. Drizzle the dressing profusely on to the watermelon triangles.
4. Tear mint spigs or put them whole as garnish.
5. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on to the slices.

Tip: You may also use Feta cheese instead of Parmesan for a creamier dressing.

Black Grape and Rocket Salad

Black Grape and Rocket Salad

What You Need:
2 cups Black Grapes - halved
4-5 shallots (peeled and thinly sliced)
1 cup Rocket Leaves (torn)
1 Cup Red Wine Vinegar (or Balsamic Vinegar)
 Small Parmesan Slivers (to garnish)
Salt to Taste

1. Soak the thinly sliced shallots in red wine vinegar and salt. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Dice the black grapes into halves.
3. Mix the two generously letting the pink juices from the shallots and vinegar seep in.
4. Add the torn rocket leaves and mix.
5. Cut small wafer-thin slivers of parmesan and garnish them on top of the salad.

Caponata

Caponata

What You Need:
3 large Aubergines - cut into large chunks
3-4 Red Chillies - deseeded and cut long
1 and 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
10-12 small button mushrooms - whole
2-3 garlic pods - peeled and finely sliced
8-10 whole unpeeled garlic pods
Pepper - to taste
Sea Salt - to taste
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
Basil leaves - to garnish

1. On a pre-heated, greased baking tray, spread the aubergine chunks with deseeded chillies and whole garlic pods.
2. Mix in the seasonings and salt and pepper.
3. Pour olive oil in and mix well.
4. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees C for half an hour.
5. Season mushrooms with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.
6. When the aubergine is done, add the mushrooms. Bake for an additional ten minutes.
7. Garnish with torn basil and keep hot till it is time to serve.

Honey-Glazed Roast Chicken and Bacon

Honey-Glazed Chicken with Bacon

What You Need:
5-6 Chicken Legs
6-7 Strips of Bacon (minced)
4 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Honey
1 tablespoon Garlic - minced
3 tablespoons Lime Juice
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Chopped fresh tarragon (optional)
Basil leaves (torn)

1. Using your fingers, mix together the chicken legs and bacon strips in a bowl.
2. Add soy sauce, honey, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon juice to the meats.
3. On a pre-heated baking tray, spread the chicken legs coated with bacon and seasonings and drizzle the remaining juices from the bowl on to them.
4. Pour a dash of oil and pop it in the oven. (Baking chicken doesn't require much oil as it cooks in its own fat.)
5. Let it bake on 180 degrees C for 30 minutes.
6. Adjust seasoning and garnish with torn basil or chopped up tarragon.

Phew...Can you imagine eating all of that for one dinner? To top it all, we had a home-made kiwi and cucumber mint sorbet for dessert.

I don't think I'll be able to reproduce the same symphony from that night even if I tried. But I hope these recipes will lead you to the incredible summer feast that we savoured, without driving you out of the kitchen in a heat stroke.

The Chef and All Her Helpers

Thank you Vidya, Purnendu and kids for a wonderful evening! And thank you Ajit for being such an enthusiastic co-learner (and ofcourse, for the lovely pictures).