Top 10 recipes for rain or shine
What's going on with the weather? So that you're prepared come rain or shine, we've picked five ingredients and turned each one into two recipes: one for good weather, one for bad.
Peas
Hot
Ahhhh peas… they’re always there for us. Dig out your bag from the back of the freezer when it’s sunny out, and whip up a very light radish and pea salad for lunch. All it takes is the obvious, plus a solitary spring onion and a crème fraiche dressing.
Cold
Easy peasy pea paella please. Mark Sargeant’s hearty main is a cheat’s version of the classic Spanish favourite, taking only 30 minutes of cooking time. Chorizo adds warmth and depth of flavour, while the peas are little green speckles in amongst paprika rice.
Prawns
Hot
I spy a patch of blue sky… quick, get the barbie out! Make your charred prawns Thai flavoured with a marinade made from coriander, garlic, sugar and fish sauce, then either sizzle on the barbecue or cook on the grill inside. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
Cold
A warming, lightly spiced tagine is just the ticket on a nippy day like today (the wind howls outside as I type). Because it’s a fish tagine – cod and prawns – this stew is ready in half the time it would take to cook meat. Flavour with saffron, chilli, Moroccan spices and fresh ginger.
Beef
Hot
The perfect show-off picnic platter, Lucas Hollweg’s roast beef with dill and mustard takes only 20 minutes of cooking time – a good thing when it’s too hot to spend hours in a baking kitchen. Whisk together Dijon mustard, vinegar, sugar and oil for the sauce accompaniment.
Cold
Warm up with a creamy dreamy curry, fresh from Anjum Anand’s kitchen. Her beef madras is rich in flavour, spice and comfort – lower the amount of Kashmiri and green chillies in the recipe if you prefer your curry milder. Cinnamon and fresh root ginger add delicate heat, too.
Sausages
Hot
Hot out? Then stick your food on a skewer. These lamb sausage kebabs with courgette curls are made for the barbie, and a cooling tzatziki dip (Greek yoghurt, mint, garlic, and cucumber) is the perfect accompaniment. Be sure to squeeze the excess liquid from the cucumber before using.
Cold
Big fat sausages, chunky tatties, mushrooms and shallots, all shoved in a roasting tray and blitzed in the oven for an hour or so… this hot sausage roast is comfort food at its very best. One of the comments on the recipe calls it “absolutely delicious and far tastier than an ordinary sausage casserole”.
Apples
Hot
A summer apple and pear salad for lunch – what could be more refreshing? Light, healthy and very green, it also comes with feta, walnuts and beetroot, and is drizzled in a walnut and thyme dressing. Why not make a big batch, and have the leftovers for lunch at work?
Cold
Ditch the salad, and turn your pommes into a Spanish apple pie instead. Chef Jose Pizarro makes a delectable pie crust dough from ground almonds, fresh vanilla and buttercream, and fills his pudding with poached fruit. There’s a secret layer of vanilla pastry cream somewhere in there, too.
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