I like to share my favourite things, so here is my favourite complete summer meal that will, hopefully, please the whole family.
Starter: Quick Kind of Gazpacho
Ok, bear with me on this one.
I’ve tweaked my grandma’s Arjamolho recipe and made it kid-friendly. Arjamolho is a summer soup typically made with fresh tomatoes cut in very small cubes, cucumber, onion and a lot of vinegar or lemon juice. It’s served chilled and it reminds me of heady summer days back in the Algarve, getting home from school and drinking the whole bowl in one go.
I like ‘bits’ in my soup so the above works for me, but the children in my life are firmly against ‘bits’ so I had to improvise. Because it’s blended I call it more of a gazpacho. I also added a bit of red pepper. Otherwise, it was a bit too tomato-y after blending.
Ingredients
500g vine tomatoes
1 cucumber, peeled
1 red pepper
1/2 red onion
1 clove of garlic, peeled
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
large handful of ice / or water and plenty of time to chill
How to
Put everything in the blender (or use a hand blender) and mix until smooth.
Add in the olive oil and mix again until just combined.
Serve cold.
That’s it.
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Main: Mini turkey fillets with mushrooms and cream
This was a solid staple growing up. It’s easy, uses one pan only and it’s still one of my favourite recipes from childhood.
Ingredients
400g turkey breast, diced
300ml single cream
300g chestnut mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 chicken stock cube
soy sauce, to marinade
salt and pepper to taste
How to
Marinate the turkey with black pepper and soy sauce for as long as you can (I’ve done from 20 minutes to a whole day depending on how much time I have).
Mince the garlic and add to a large frying pan along with the olive oil and turkey breast.
Let cook until the turkey is ⅔ done.
Add the mushrooms and let cook for a few minutes more.
Add the cream and stock cube.
Let cook until the cream thickens to your liking.
Serve with plain rice.
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Dessert: Yoghurt with lemon curd, frozen grapes and Belvita biscuits
I thought this was the kind of concoction no one else apart from me would like… However, it’s been a solid success with my nieces and nephews, so here it goes.
Ingredients
greek yoghurt
a spoonful of lemon curd
a packet of 4 Belvita biscuits
a handful of frozen grapes
How to
Put the yoghurt in a bowl and swirl in the lemon curd.
Top up with broken Belvita biscuits and frozen grapes.
That’s it.
Tried any or all of these? Let us know what you think in the comments.