Summer is my favourite season. Sunshine, long days and an amazing array of fabulous fruit, vegetables and produce crammed into the markets. The stall-holders all cheerful in the sun presiding over tables piled high with produce straight from the fields and farms; the colours and textures of so many different vegetables like boxes of jewels. I drift from stall to stall heaping my basket with fresh ripe tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, courgettes, onions and bright green leaves, not to mention the peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries. Olives glisten in jars and trays, beautiful local cheeses and meats beckon from behind chilled cases; then I find the lady selling local honey – rich and golden and begging to be paired with some luscious live full-fat yoghurt.
It's so much easier to eat healthily in the summer so here are some of my favourite summer recipes, perfect for outdoor eating and al fresco entertaining.
If I'm honest, I don't actually use recipes – I tend to work on the 'let's see what I've got and how I can put it together' style of cooking; I rarely measure anything and most of my quantities tend to be in handfuls, pinches or just guessed by eye. I have, however, attempted to put some actual quantities onto these recipes so that you can have a go too but don't feel constrained – they're ideas and bases for your imagination so add, adapt, modify and play as much as you like.
I have also put these recipes onto my recipe page so you don't have to scroll through the blog to find the one you want.
Quinoa with Feta, Black Olives, Pine-nuts and Mint
This is a lovely, Primal-approved addition to a summer lunch. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) isn't a grain but a chenopod, related to spinach and beets. Quinoa contains twice the protein of wheat or rice and 7 times the iron and calcium of grains such as brown rice and it's gluten-free so is an excellent substitute for pasta and rice salads. It has a lovely nutty taste which goes well with the feta, olives and mint in this recipe. It is still relatively high in carbs so although it's infinitely better than grains, if you're trying to keep your carbs down, have this in moderation.
The preparation is similar to rice. I use a quality vegetable stock (such as Swiss Marigold Bouillon) to cook the quinoa but you could use just water. If you do use stock, check the seasoning before adding extra salt as the reduction can make the quinoa quite salty, depending on the stock you choose.
I found a lovely multi-coloured quinoa in Aldi which I used for this photo, but any quinoa will work just as well.
For a vegan version, just substitute a good vegan cheese for the feta.
Ingredients serves 6
150g quinoa
300ml quality stock or water
1 150g pack feta cheese cut into 1cm cubes, or a tub feta cubes
150g pitted black olives
50g pine nuts
A really good handful of fresh mint, chopped
For the dressing
75ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tblsp sherry, red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt and black pepper to taste
Put the quinoa in a saucepan and cover with the water or stock. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes, then remove from the heat. Drain any excess liquid, cover and leave to stand for another 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Put the pine nuts into and dry, heavy-based pan and dry-roast until they are golden and aromatic. Leave to cool.
Mix the oil, vinegar or juice, garlic and seasoning together well in a jug.
When the quinoa is ready (it should be soft and slightly fluffy), pour on the dressing and stir well.
Mix in the feta, pine nuts and olives, taking care not to break up the olives and feta.
Just before serving, stir in the chopped fresh mint.
This goes well with any BBQ dishes or anywhere you would usually use rice or pasta salad.
Moroccan-style Stew with Garbanzos
It is sometimes forgotten that the Muslims or Moors ruled large parts of the Spanish peninsula for 800 years from 711 AD – 1492 AD and their influence is still in evidence today. Spanish language, music, arts, architecture and culture all reflect Moorish elements and perhaps none more so than the cuisine. The Moors brought crops such as oranges, lemons, olives, saffron, dates, almonds, rice, ginger and garbanzos (chickpeas) all of which are very common in Spanish cooking and, of course, delicious.
Garbanzos, or chickpeas, can be bought in tins, but for the best results it's really worth buying the dried ones and soaking and cooking them yourself. I buy the 'garbanzos grandes' in the local supermarket – they're bigger than the usual kind and, to me, they have a superior flavour. Yes, the soaking and cooking do take a bit of planning but you don't actually have to do anything while they're at it.
Some people find pulses of any kind a bit indigestible and they certainly can contribute to a bit of a 'wind factor'. However, the indigestible part is very good for feeding your gut biome and they're a good source of non-animal protein.
This stew with its Moroccan influences is very typical in Spanish restaurants as a first course. It's a very adaptable dish and can be adjusted to your own taste or even to whatever ingredients you have at hand. I sometimes add some chunks of *white fish or leftover cooked chicken, but this is the simplest version.
Ingredients Serves 4
200g dried garbanzos
2 tblsps olive oil
1 leek, washed and sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 medium carrots, chopped into small cubes
1 large red pepper, cut into 1cm pieces
1 medium potato cut into 2cm pieces
3 large ripe tomatoes skinned and chopped or ½ can tinned tomatoes, with juice
100ml white or rose wine
1l stock – this can be any type depending on the flavour you want
2 bay leaves
1 good tsp smoked paprika
pinch of saffron
sea salt to taste
To prepare the garbanzos, rinse well then soak in water for 8 hours or overnight.
Rinse again then cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 45 – 60 minutes; the garbanzos should be 'al dente', i.e. soft but with a slight bite to them. Drain (you can use the water to make your stock), then leave covered while you prepare the stew.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and very gently sauté the leeks, carrots, pepper, potato and garlic until they are soft and translucent.
While the vegetables are cooking, make the stock and sprinkle in the saffron to infuse.
Turn the heat up slightly and add the wine, let it bubble and reduce for a few minutes.
Add the paprika and stir well then add the bay leaves, tomatoes, stock with saffron and garbanzos. Bring back to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer very gently for about 20-30 minutes.
Check the seasoning and add sea salt if necessary.
Don't forget to remove the bay leaves before serving.
Serve hot
*If I'm adding white fish or cooked chicken , I add these about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
Falafel with sweet chilli sauce
Another vegetarian recipe using garbanzos (chickpeas).
Falafel are little spicy balls or patties made from garbanzos and they originate from Egypt and the Middle East.
These makes a lovely snack, but if you serve them with a big mixed salad and a low-carb flatbread (see recipe here), they turn into a substantial meal.
The sweet chilli sauce just adds a fabulous dimension to these little balls of deliciousness, and although it does contain sugar, there is not too much (unless you scarf down the whole lot!). I actually love these with both the chilli sauce and a spoonful of home-made garlic mayo – absolute heaven on a plate!
This recipe is much easier if you have a food processor. If not, you can chop and blend by hand and the mixture will be coarser, not that that is a bad thing.
Ingredients serves 4
For the Falafel
250g garbanzos soaked and cooked – they need to be quite soft for falafel
1 medium red onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled
1-2 red chillies – depending on how hot you want these. If you don't want them too hot, just remove the seeds from the chillies.
1 ½ tsps ground cumin
1 ½ tsps ground coriander
1 tblsp lemon juice
1 handful fresh coriander leaves
1 egg, beaten
Sea salt and black pepper
*Gram flour for dusting
Olive oil for frying
For the sweet chilli sauce
3 hot red chillies, finely chopped
150g sugar
150ml white or wine vinegar
Put all the falafel ingredients, except the egg, salt and pepper and olive oil into a food processor and blend until the mixture is relatively smooth. Add the beaten egg a little at a time – you may not need all of it – until the mixture is smooth and holds together. If it's a little too wet, add a tablespoon of gram flour.
Check the seasoning and add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Form into walnut-sized balls and place onto a tray or baking sheet, flattening them slightly. Chill in the fridge while you make the chilli sauce.
Chilli sauce
Put the chillies, sugar and vinegar into a small saucepan and place over a low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5-7 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.
Pour into a heatproof bowl or jug.
The sauce will keep for many weeks in a jar in the fridge.
Pour enough olive oil into a frying pan to cover the bottom generously. Bring to a medium heat.
Add the falafel, a few at a time so you don't overcrowd the pan. Cook for about 2-3 minutes then flip them over to cook the other side. The outsides of the falafel should be crisp and golden brown. Continue with the remaining falafel.
Serve with a green salad, a good dollop of garlic mayo and a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce.
*gram flour is a flour made from chickpeas and can be bought in most supermarkets
Home-made Burgers Stuffed with Mozzarella
What would summer be without barbecues and what would barbecues be without burgers? I know it's perfectly possible to get good burgers from your butcher or meat counter, but if you're trying to eat primally you may find that many bought burgers have undesirable ingredients such as breadcrumbs or vegetable oils. And there's something very satisfying about making burgers from scratch, especially as they're fairly easy to do. It also means you can be creative with flavourings, herbs and spices to get them exactly how you want.
These burgers have a delightful surprise in the middle – a gooey, oozing piece of melting mozzarella which just make them so good!
I used turkey mince for the ones in the photo but any good quality mince will work – beef, lamb, pork, chicken – whatever takes your fancy. If you're super keen and have a meat mincer, you could even buy cuts of meat and make your own mince. Do make sure, however, that your mince has a good high fat content – lean meat makes for dry, flavourless burgers. If you're using a leaner meat such as turkey, just make sure you baste them well with olive oil or goose fat during cooking.
In this recipe, I use almond flour to help hold the burgers in shape but you could use coconut flour instead.
Ingredients makes 8-10 burgers
500g quality mince
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsps paprika – hot or smoked, depending on your taste
2 tsps oregano or herbes de Provence
sea salt (approx 1 tsp)
1 free-range egg, beaten
1-2 tblsps almond flour
125g mozzarella
Put the mince, onion, garlic, herbs, spices and salt into a large bowl and mix well.
Add the beaten egg, then stir in as much almond flour as you need to make the mixture easy to handle – it should be a similar consistency to sausage meat. Leave to stand for about 10 minutes for the mixture to firm up.
Divide the mixture into portions (depending on the size you want) then cut the mozzarella into the same number of pieces.
Take each portion of mince and, using your hands, flatten it slightly then mould it around a piece of mozzarella, making sure there are no gaps for the cheese to ooze out during cooking. Flatten the burgers slightly then barbecue until the meat is cooked and the cheese is unctuously runny.
Serve with quinoa salad and home-made mayo.
Spicy Grilled Chicken Thighs
These chicken thighs are perfect for a barbecue because they cook evenly and quickly – none of the worry about being properly cooked that you get with bigger chicken joints. Chicken thighs are a great buy – more flavour and usually less expensive than breast fillets and they take up the flavour of the spices beautifully; I buy boneless thighs with the skin on – the fat in the skin adding moistness and flavour.
The spices I use often depend on my mood – whether I want an Asian flavour, or Middle Eastern, or African. For these I used a rich tomato base with flavours of North Africa with the addition of ras el hanout, a spice blend found in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. You should be able to find it in most big supermarkets.
I'm not going to give instructions for actually barbecuing – everyone has their own methods and I always get my husband to do it anyway.
If you're not barbecuing, these also roast well in the oven.
Ingredients serves 4
4 large skin-on, boneless chicken thighs
3 tblsps olive oil
1 tblsp tomato puree
1 tblsp sherry or red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 hot chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ras el hanout
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
sea salt and black pepper to taste
Flatten the chicken thighs out so that they will barbecue evenly and make 3-4 cuts in the skin to allow the flavours to permeate.
Mix all the marinade ingredients together and place in a bowl big enough to take the chicken thighs. Coat well with the marinade, rubbing in well. Cover and leave to marinate for at least an hour in the fridge – the longer the better.
Remove from the fridge about ½ hour before barbecuing.
Cook on the barbecue grill until cooked through with a lovely red-gold skin, basting with the leftover marinade from time to time.
If you're oven roasting, they should take about 35 minutes at 190 deg. C.
Serve with green salad, and quinoa or flatbread for a complete meal.
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