Bright, light and cheery supper solutions to suit the season
Sarah Banbery's quick and easy summer stand-bys are just the thing for a family gathering or a midweek meal with friends
Chargrilled Pork with New Potato Salad
The potato salad here is just as good served with chargrilled chicken, grilled salmon or with kebabs – you can add a spoon of crème fraîche or mayonnaise as a dressing or a good handful of chopped herbs, such as dill, chervil and basil.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 x 100g pork leg escalopes, trimmed
- ½ lemon, juice only
- 1 sprig rosemary
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 400g new potatoes
- 300g frozen peas
- 300g baby broad beans, shelled
- Basil leaves
- Parmesan cheese
Method
- Place the pork escalopes between 2 pieces of clingfilm and, with a rolling pin, flatten them to ½cm thick.
- Mix the lemon juice, rosemary and olive oil together and pour over the pork escalopes, turning them over until coated.
- Boil the new potatoes for 15 – 20 mins until tender, adding the peas and broad beans for the final few minutes.
- Drain the vegetables, season well and add 1 tbsp. olive oil.
- Preheat a griddle pan over a medium heat – when hot, add the pork escalopes and cook for 1 – 2 mins on each side until cooked through.
- Divide the potato salad between 4 plates, top each with a pork escalope and shave over the Parmesan cheese.
Chicken Quesadillas with Sweetcorn Salsa
Serves 4
Kids love quesadillas as they can be stuffed with pretty much anything – cooked tuna, chicken, beef or lamb. The Jalapeño can be left out or extra chilli added according to your preference. Tomato salsa is particularly good as a topping, as is guacamole.
Ingredients
- 1 yellow pepper, trimmed and diced
- 3 yellow tomatoes, chopped
- Small bunch Coriander, chopped
- 200g tinned sweetcorn, drained
- 3 spring onions, trimmed & chopped
- 1 lime, juice only
- 1 Jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
- 350g cooked chicken, shredded
- 200g Cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 avocados, stoned, skinned and sliced
- 8 flour tortillas
- Sour cream
Method
- Mix together the yellow pepper, tomatoes, coriander, sweetcorn and spring onion with the lime juice and Jalapeño, season well.
- Lay 4 of the tortillas out on a flat surface and divide the cheese between them, then add the chicken and top with another tortilla.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan until hot and add one of the quesadillas. Fry, without adding any oil, for 2 – 3 minutes on each side or until the tortilla is crisp, the cheese has melted and the chicken is heated through thoroughly. Keep warm while you cook the other quesadillas.
- To serve, cut the quesadillas into quarters, top with slices of avocado and a spoonful of sour cream. Serve with the corn salsa on the side.
Penne with Pancetta and tomato
Serves 4
Pasta is always a good midweek supper and this really is a fast fix – using fresh tomatoes gives it vibrant colour and a more summery taste. If you can find a good mix of really fresh, flavourful tomatoes, you can leave out the pancetta for a vegetarian version.
Ingredients
- 450g penne pasta
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 200g pancetta cut into lardon
- 500g fresh mixed tomatoes, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 ball of mozzarella, drained and diced
- Chopped flatleaf parsley and pecorino to serve
Method
- In a large pan of boiling water cook the penne until 'al dente'.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a non-stick pan and gently fry the pancetta until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
- Add the tomatoes and garlic to the frying pan and heat through for 5 mins, then season with salt and pepper.
- Add the mozzarella and cook for a couple more minutes until just starting to soften.
- Stir the sauce and pancetta into the penne and serve with flatleaf parsley and grated pecorino.
Cooking
Tips
