3 lovely summer courses

[yogabird]

something easy yet looking wonderful required. Several evenings lots of DH's colleagues to be entertained in the next 10 days, where to start? Off to the garden now with recipe books but would welcome ideas. Have lots of apples and green beans, squashes and some plums available for use if possible. Would like to impress but not try too hard - the sun is out after all!

oooh! someone, please must have some ideas?

How many people are you cooking for? This recipe for Mediterranean guinea fowl was published in the Times a couple of months ago. It is from the Ginger Pig. I've made it a few times and it's easy and very summery. I'd say one medium bird will serve three to four people. Thhe only nice things I do with squash are risotto or Skye Gyngell's curry.

Mediterranean Guinea Fowl
The slightly gamey flavour of guinea fowl marries well with the fresh, clean vegetable flavours here.

1 tbsp olive oil
115g pancetta, cut into 2cm dice
1 guinea fowl, jointed into 8 pieces
2 red onions, peeled and sliced
8 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
1 red pepper, cored, seeded and chopped into 1cm chunks
1 yellow pepper, cored, seeded and chopped into 1cm chunks
3 tbsp black or green olives
2 bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp chopped oregano
300ml white wine
Finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
1 bunch of parsley, chopped

Heat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5. Place the oil, pancetta and guinea fowl in a roasting tin and toss to coat the meat in the oil. Put the tin in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and peppers, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, except the lemon zest and parsley, cover with foil and return to the oven for 30 minutes. Mix together the lemon zest and parsley and sprinkle over just before serving.

I made these plum and hazelnut slices - they are heaven.

Mains I'd go salad -y, maybe a warm salad with roasted squash, pecorino and parma ham, plus some leaves and good dressing with some crusty bread, or salmon or tuna nicoise or for something hot maybe chicken in a creme fraiche and tarragon sauce.

Rather than a starter maybe hunt round your veg patch and do dips and crudities? Or if you're feeling brave tempura some with a dipping sauce.

...just seen you have green beans, you could do this?

Rick Stein has a really lovely recipe for sausages with lemony potatoes. It's like a light summery casserole. Great with a salad, but would be just as lovely with green beans. It's very easy to do. For 4 people I think, but would scale up easily. Brown off 450g good sausages any you like, but I think it's chipolata in his recipe. Take out and soften some sliced onion and lots of garlic. Put in 750g quarted waxy potatoes, juice of a lemon and the paired (sp?) zest of half the lemon. Add bay leaves, fennel seeds, salt & pepper, the sausages and 150ml water. In the oven for 40 mins at 180 (maybe longer if you've doubled the recipe). Could serve the beans cold or hot and dressed with a nice dressing - crushed clove of garlic, salt, pepper, tblsp dijon, tblsp white wine vinegar, 6 tblsp olive oil, chopped tarragon. Would go smoked mackrel pate to start or crab toasts and a plumb/frangiepan (sp?) tart for pud.

Am cooking for 6. Wow! Some fab ideas here, thanks all for taking so much time to type it all out. It sounds lovely and I could make any of them. Great!

Green beans sound lovely. do you have your own recipe, or do you do then with lemon and garlic ?
they would accompany that gineau recipe beautifully with some new pots. Or a really nice bit of salmon, that always looks impressive.
plum slices sound devine.
tart plums and the almonds go so well, maybe with just a good vanilla ice-cream ?