As we pass midsummer’s day, it feels as if it is time for barbecues, for picnics, for casual dining rather than the more formal style of entertaining we might enjoy during the cooler months. I prefer dishes that I can prepare in advance to serve inside or out, whenever suits the weather, perhaps a late Iberian-style lunch around 4pm to 5pm, or a moonlit dinner.

When meal times are this flexible, it is useful to have a repertoire of dishes that are as good cold as they are hot, and for these I particularly like poultry, whether chicken pieces, squab or quails. Fried, pot-roasted or plain roasted, the meat will have plenty of flavour, even when served cold.

If your preference is piscine, a whole fish can be steamed or poached and left to cool, after being carefully covered, loosely, but completely, with foil, to protect it. Ideally, for maximum flavour, the fish should be served at room temperature, which it will reach about two to three hours after cooking if it is a large fish, say about two kilos. But if you cannot serve it then, it should, of course, be refrigerated.

Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes or so before serving.

Good-tempered accompaniments, those that will not wilt or go soggy, are ideal for casual entertaining, and grains and pulses fill the bill even better than pasta. Rice, wild rice, bulgur wheat, lentils, couscous (yes, a pasta but it behaves more like a grain) and quinoa all make delicious, yet satisfying dishes, to serve hot, warm or cold as salads.

Native to the Andes, rising prices in Peru and Bolivia have encouraged others to grow quinoa, and it is now even being cultivated by a few farmers in Shropshire, using a newly-developed seed suitable for the British climate.

It is a grass, like amaranth and buckwheat, with highly nutritious seeds. These look like tiny pale straw-coloured lentils.

They absorb three to four times their volume in water, are quick to cook and have a good flavour when cooked, mild, slightly vegetal, nutty.

Quinoa is an excellent addition to the vegetarian or vegan diet, as it contains many important amino acids.

I find it particularly good combined with cooked lentils, as in today’s salad. Use it as a blueprint and add your own aromatics and vegetables.

A selection of premium ice creams, sorbets and fresh fruit is the easiest dessert to offer at the end of a casual summer meal, but if you want to take a little more trouble, I recommend jellies, custards and similar pots of deliciousness, which, of course, need to be refrigerated as soon as possible after cooking and cooling.

They can be made in advance, and they will definitely be greeted with exclamations of delight, making all your efforts worthwhile.

Spiced, lemon-roasted quail

(Serves 6)

6 quails
1 large lemon
1-2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Gozo salt
1 tsp each freshly ground black pepper, ground coriander and cumin
½ tsp each ground cardamom, cloves and cinnamon
150ml chicken stock, white wine or water

Cut the wing tips from the birds and wipe them thoroughly, inside and out. Shave six spirals of lemon zest and put inside the birds.

Halve the lemon and rub lemon juice all over the birds. Cut up the lemon and put a piece inside each bird. Brush with olive oil and then dust with the spice mixture, inside and out. Brown the birds all over in a lidded frying pan or shallow casserole.

Remove them while you deglaze the pan with the liquid, scraping up any residue.

Put the birds back, cover the pan and cook on top of the stove or in a preheated oven at 180˚C/350˚F, Gas 4, for 25 minutes.

Warm quinoa and lentil salad with mint and sherry vinaigrette

(Serves 6)

200g Puy or other small ‘blue’ lentils
100g quinoa
Extra virgin olive oil
Sherry vinegar
Mint leaves, shredded or chopped
Basil or coriander leaves, shredded or chopped
6 to 8 spring onions, trimmed and chopped, or
3 shallots, peeled and chopped (both optional)
2 tbsps black olives
1-2 tbsps sultanas
1-2 tbsps toasted flaked almonds
Seasoning

Cook the pulses and grains, separately in water; the lentils in at least twice their volume; the quinoa in two to three times its volume.

Drain and mix them and stir in to taste, olive oil and vinegar, then adding the herbs, as much, or as little as you like, the onion, if using it, olives, sultanas, almonds and some seasoning.

Espresso custards

(Serves 6)

450ml whole milk
125g freshly ground espresso coffee
100g to 125g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
Scant pinch of Gozo salt

Put the milk and coffee in a sauce pan. Scald, remove from the heat and leave to infuse for five to 10 minutes.

In another saucepan dissolve half the sugar in a tablespoon of water and then cook until it caramelises, but do not let it burn or it will be bitter and you will have to start again.

Remove from the heat immediately and stir in a couple of tablespoons of water to make a thin caramel syrup.

Mix the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl, stir in the caramel and then strain into it the coffee through muslin or a jelly bag, squeezing to extract all the liquid.

Add the salt and then set the bowl over a pan of simmering water, or transfer the mixture to a bain-marie. Cook gently until the custard thickens, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and pour into espresso cups or custard glassed, leaving about one centimetre space at the top. Chill until set and then top with a layer of whipped cream.

Keep chilled until required.

Yoghurt panna cotta with berry fruits

(Serves 6)

500g carton thick Greek yoghurt
3 tsps granules or sheets of gelatine
250g fresh or frozen mixed berry fruits
1 cinnamon stick
250ml squeezed orange juice and grated zest of an orange
Honey or light muscovado sugar, to taste

Drain the whey from the carton. Spoon the yoghurt into a saucepan. Soften the gelatine in two or three tablespoons water, then heat it until dissolved. Stir it into the yoghurt and gently heat to blood temperature.

Stir until smooth, allow to cool somewhat and pour the mixture into six wet moulds. When cool, refrigerate the yoghurt until set.

To prepare the fruit, put them in a saucepan with the orange juice, zest and cinnamon and simmer gently for five or six minutes. Stir in sugar or honey to taste and when ready to serve, remove the cinnamon stick. Blend and sieve.

Turn the set yoghurt out on to serving plates and pour the fruit purée around it.

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