Lazy summer lunch

Last Sunday we invited my husband’s friends for lunch. The friendship goes way back to the days when my husband lived in South Africa, and he was very excited when the couple contacted him here in Sydney. Between allergies and the plethora of choices people make in terms of what they do and don't eat, you have to be very careful about what you cook for guests. In this case, it turned out that one of my guests was a pescaterian, but apart from that there were no other dietary restrictions. Did I mention that it's currently summer in Australia and it was a perfect day to have lunch alfresco? To impress my guests I covered the table with a tablecloth my mother-in-law bought for me in Cape Town; it's white with red apples painted over it.

The colourful chairs were another DIY project of mine. They were originally plain, untreated pine wood that looked pretty boring to me so I bought six small sample pots in different colour paints and painted them. 

Menu

Cold Gazpacho soup

Smoked salmon roulade

Watermelon salad with feta cheese and herbs

Home made hummus

Asian-style cabbage salad

Fresh fruit

Wine: Pieroth Blue 2007 Kreuznacher Kronenberg Nahe 2007

If you wanted to add a hot dish to this menu, you could easily cook the Asian-infused Barramundi from one of my previous posts.  If you wanted to splurge a little more, you could place fresh oysters or prawns on your table.

As I started preparing the soup an interesting thought came to mind: according to colour psychology red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power and determination, as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense colour; it enhances the  human metabolism, increases the respiration rate and raises blood pressure. Yet almost every dish on my cold summer menu was red...

Gazpacho 

When I made this soup for the very first time (not sure if I can use the word “cook” since there is no cooking involved), the recipe I chose called for fresh tomatoes. As this fruit is perpetually quite expensive in Australia - $4/kilo at least - and they all need to be peeled, I decided to cut corners by buying canned tomatoes instead! Everyone always likes the soup anyway so I continue to use tinned tomatoes instead of fresh.

You need (for 8 people):

2 x 400g tinned peeled tomatoes (your preferred brand)

2 x red capsicum, cut into chunks

1 x medium cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks

1 x medium Spanish onion (red!)

2 x garlic cloves (but I adore garlic and so I use four or five instead)

2 TBS Extra virgin olive oil

1 TBS red wine vinegar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

A drop or two of red Tabasco sauce (optional)

A handful of basil or parsley leaves (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz to your desired consistency - I like it smooth but with a bit of texture. Check the seasoning and adjust to your taste. If you feel that the soup is rather thick, add a bit of warm water.

If you and your guests are feeling a bit adventurous, add a splash of vodka to the soup. Serve cold with sprinkles of chopped basil or parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

Watermelon Salad with Feta and Herbs

The first time I ate this salad was in Bali at a very cool restaurant in Seminyak called KU DE TA. The combination of the sweet watermelon, the salty feta and the heat from the chilies was very unusual and worked well with all the other dishes we had there.

You need:

1/4 x ripe watermelon (keep it refrigerated until the last moment)

100 grams x goat cheese or feta (whichever takes your fancy)

A bunch of coriander leaves

1 x Spanish onion (red)

A bunch of mint leaves

A sprinkle of dried red chili flakes (if you like the heat)

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the watermelon skin from its flesh, cut the fruit into chunks approximately 2cm x 2cm in size - try to make them not too small as they will lose their liquid and become mushy. Crumble in the cheese and finely sliced red onion. Add in the chopped herbs, salt and pepper and give it all a toss.  Do not work it too hard, try to keep it crisp and cold.

Hummus

This is great as a dip on its own or as an accompaniment to a meat dish, spread on flat bread. The beauty of this version is that if you don’t have chickpeas, other legumes such as cannelloni beans work just as well.

You need:

1 x 400 gram can of chickpeas

3 TBS tahini (found in the Kosher or Health Food section in your supermarket)

1 tsp sumac (or, if you don’t have this on your spice rack, a squeeze of lemon juice and 1 tsp paprika are a good substitute)

2-3 cloves of garlic (as I told you before, I adore garlic)

Salt and pepper

Drain the chickpeas but save the liquid.  Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Check the seasoning and adjust according to your taste. If the paste looks too thick, add the reserved liquid, another spoonful of olive oil and one more of tahini. Blitz again.

Place the paste into a bowl, make a well in the middle, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika to serve.

                       Sweet and Sour Cabbage Salad with Slivered Almonds

This salad is another versatile dish that can be served just as an entree/side dish or add shredded chicken to it and you have a lunch dish.

You need (for 8 people):

1/2 x white cabbage or Chinese cabbage

4 sprigs green onion

1/2 packet fried noodles (you will find them in the Asian section of your supermarket)

3 TBS toasted slivered almonds

Olive oil

White wine vinegar

Caster sugar

Soy sauce

Use a big, deep bowl that will allow you to mix the salad easily. Finely shred the cabbage, finely slice the onions, combine, toss in the almonds and mix.

For the dressing
Pour around 6 TBS vinegar, 4 TBS olive oil, 3 TBS soy sauce and 2 TBS caster sugar into a screw top jar, give it a good shake and taste. You should be able to taste some heat, sweetness and sourness all at once. I suggest using regular olive oil rather than extra virgin. Make sure you have enough dressing as the cabbage will soak most of it up; about 150 grams. Adjust the ingredients to your taste but bear in mind that it’s meant to be a sweet and sour salad so you'd want both of those flavours.

Pour the dressing over the salad, give it all a good mix and sprinkle with the fried noodles just before serving as they become soggy very fast.  When serving, scoop from the bottom of the dish where the dressing is.

Also, do not forget that fresh vegetables cut into bite size pieces, sprinkled with your favourite dressing is an all time winner, as well as being eye catching and a major time saver!

The beauty of these dishes is that they are all served cold and are delightfully refreshing on hot days. Also, most of the preparation can be done in advance with minimum effort and they all taste just as good the next day!