SUMMER DINNER FOR FRIENDS

                 

    This is a summer menu for dinner with friends.   Serve with a very good wine and candle light.

                                                 WATERMELON BITES

Here is a cheap and comforting but gourmet hors-d’oeuvre, very appropriate for these difficult days.

1 kg (2 lb) watermelon, de-seeded and cut into small bite-size pieces

1 cup orange juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp freshly snipped chives

250 g (½ lb) feta cheese, cubed

Mint sprigs for garnish.

Dip the watermelon pieces in orange juice, sprinkle with a little salt, freshly ground black pepper and snipped chives.   Garnish with feta and mint leaves and serve.

                                             PRAWN AND CRAB TART

                                     

This is a lovely tart! 

Pastry

250g ( 2 cups minus 2 tbsp) self-raising flour

125g (½ cup) butter

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp or more, iced milk

A pinch of salt

Filling

180 ml (2 cups) bland kasseri or Emmenthal, grated

½ kg (1 lb) prawns, sautéed in a little white wine with 2 rosemary twigs until they just change colour

4 eggs, separated

125 ml (1/2 cup) cream, 2% fat, if preferred

125 ml (1/2 cup) full milk

½ cup crabmeat, cooked

2-3 spring onions, finely chopped and stewed with 2 tbsp water and a little olive oil

1-2 tbsp mayonnaise, low fat if preferred

Salt and pepper to taste

1\8 tsp Cayenne pepper

2 heaped tbsp San Mihalis or Parmesan, grated

2 tbsp dried bread crumbs for the pastry shell

 For the pastry, mix the flour and salt in a bowl.  Cut the butter into small pieces and rub with flour, add the egg yolk, sprinkle with milk and mix until the dough comes together. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

 Bring the pastry to room temperature, roll out thinly and line a 27 cm (11 in) tart dish.   Bake blind, covered with baking parchment and beans, for about 10 minutes.   Remove paper and pulses and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.   Remove from the oven, sprinkle with dried bread crumbs and set aside to cool.

 Sprinkle half the kasseri or Emmenthal over the cold pastry shell and place the prawns evenly on top.  Mix the egg yolks, cream and milk together, and set aside.

Mix the crabmeat with the onions, mayonnaise, the remaining grated cheese and the Cayenne, well together and stir into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt, to form soft peaks, and fold, gently, into the crab mixture.    Taste for seasoning and adjust, if needed.  

Spoon the filling into the tart, over the prawns, level the top and sprinkle with Parmesan.   Bake in an oven preheated to 190 C (375 F) for about 25-30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.   Serve with a zesty green salad.

                                    MERINGUES WITH SUMMER BERRIES

A recipe for a delicious summer dessert.

6 egg whites

A pinch of salt

375 g (12.5 oz) sugar

1 scant tsp vanilla extract

300 g (10 oz) strawberries

150 g (5 oz) raspberries

150 g (5 oz) blueberries

150 g (5 oz) blackberries

(All berries washed and hulled)

Marinade:

90-120 g (2-4 oz) caster sugar, according to choice 

1 tsp lemon juice, to accentuate the taste

1-2 tbsp Cognac or Metaxa brandy or Grand Marnier or Baileys Irish Cream

Cream Chantilly:

500 g (2 cups) fresh cream

1 tiny pinch of salt

2 heaped tbsp icing sugar

1 tbsp of the liquor used in the berries marinade

Two or even three days before you wish to serve the dessert, prepare the meringues.   Preheat the oven to 120 C ( Whip the egg whites with the salt to the soft peak stage.   Add the vanilla and the sugar by the spoonful, whipping constantly until stiff and glossy. 

Line baking tins with baking parchment and with the help of a piping bag or with two tablespoons, place equal mounds of whipped egg whites, 2½ cm (1 inch) apart, and bake for 1 hour.   Then turn off the heat and leave the meringues in the oven until completely cold.     The next day, store the meringues in tins, at room temperature.

The morning of the day you want serve the meringues, wash, hull and dry the fruit and place them in a large bowl.   Beat the marinade ingredients together and pour over the berries and gently mix together.  Leave in the fridge for 2 hours at least.

Meanwhile, beat the cream with the salt and icing sugar until stiff.  Sprinkle the liquor over and mix very gently and refrigerate.

Two hours before serving, place the meringues on a serving dish and cover each with whipped cream and garnish with berries.   Cover  and refrigerate.