Is there a hint that the weather might be cooling down? A few splashes of rain? The occasional cloudy sky? Perhaps time to start thinking about cooking again and putting something more than salads on the table. Today’s recipes will produce a perfect family Sunday lunch or perhaps a dinner for six next weekend.
As a change from fish, I have chosen pork tenderloin, a nice easy, unintimidating piece of meat, full of flavour, especially with the method I use, wrapping it in pancetta and quick to cook. You need to allow one tenderloin for two, possibly three servings. Such a versatile piece of meat can be cooked under the grill, roasted in a hot oven or cooked on the barbecue for extra depth of flavour.
For the rest of the meal, inspiration comes from the vegetable hawkers and whatever is in season. My dessert uses fresh figs, but if you prefer, choose plums, pears, even dried fruit which can be soaked and then poached in red wine. It is still too warm for fresh ġbejniet but when these are available, I use the freshest ones in place of the ricotta in my cream cheese hearts. This is a versatile recipe and one which I use all year round, vary the fruit accompaniments.
In fact, all the recipes provide a blueprint for entertaining, the contorni to be varied according to what is in season. For example, roasted pumpkin, carrot and ginger purée, braised cabbage, green beans, roasted cauliflower, grilled aubergine all accompany the pork perfectly.
Fresh, sweet, ripe tomatoes, of which there is still an abundance, in a simple salad are hard to beat, but I have included a couple of recipes which are excellent to start a meal. One is a crunchy, flavoursome stack of bread and vegetables which, the first time I made, I served as an accompaniment to grilled lamb cutlets.
It also makes an excellent starter, or, with the addition of more vegetables, and sliced goat’s cheese, a very good light main course and, with the right kind of cheese, suitable for vegetarians. I also like to bake tomatoes in a thin crust of bread dough with garlic and olive oil. The tart gives off one of the most appetising smells imaginable. A more elaborate tart can be made with courgettes and aubergines.
Yes, it does resemble a pizza and you might describe it so to your guests or why not a flat bread. Your local baker will sell you a batch of dough to save you time. Or, if you prefer, you can roll out a sheet of short pastry.
Cream cheese hearts with poached figs
(serves 6)
150ml plain yoghurt
250g mascarpone
250g ricotta
75g caster sugar, plus extra for the sauce
2 egg whites
6 ripe figs
350ml red wine
Sugar
Blend the yoghurt, mascarpone and ricotta until smooth and stir in the sugar. Whisk the egg whites to form peaks and fold into the mixture.
Spoon the mixture into pierced moulds, lined with wet cheesecloth or muslin, place on a plate and refrigerate for about 12 hours to drain and firm up.
Meanwhile, poach the fruit in the red wine, and once it is tender carefully remove and transfer to a container to refrigerate until required. Reduce the wine by half and sweeten to taste, making a nice glossy syrup.
When ready to serve, turn the hearts out on to individual plates, carefully peel off the cheesecloth, place the fruit on the plate and pour the sauce around.
Pork tenderloin in pancetta with black bean, corn and tomato salad
(serves 6)
½ tsp each freshly ground black pepper, coriander and cumin
12 slices pancetta
2 or 3 pork tenderloins
300g cooked or canned black beans
3 sweetcorn cobs, boiled for 2 minutes
4 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped, or use a mild red onion
Gozo salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar
Cut each fillet in half, lightly dust with the spices and wrap in the pancetta. Before you cook the meat, prepare the salad by simply mixing the rest of the ingredients and add-ing seasoning, oil and vinegar to taste.
Fry the pork parcels on both sides on low heat first and then hot for about 12 minutes in all, sufficient to cook the pork through.
Heap the salad on individual plates and place the pork on top. Some salad leaves also make a good addition.
Fresh tomato tart
(serves 6)
350 g bread dough
75ml extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)
8 to 10 firm, ripe tomatoes, sliced
Finely chopped chives, mint, basil or parsley
Gozo salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and put it somewhere to rise. When the dough has doubled in volume, knock it back and knead it lightly once more. Working on a floured work surface, roll and stretch it to fit an oiled shallow tart tin about 25 centimetres to 30 centimetres in diameter, pressing the dough up the sides as well to form a wall. Brush the dough all over with olive oil and scatter slices of garlic on the bottom, if using it.
If more convenient, you can also spread the dough over a baking sheet or in a Swiss roll tin.
Arrange the tomato slices on top in overlapping circles and brush with the remaining oil. Lightly season with salt and pepper, cover and let the dough prove once more for about 45 minutes. Bake in the top half of a preheated oven at 200˚C/ 400˚F/gas 6) for 20 to 25 minutes.
Sprinkle with herbs just before serving.
Tomato and aubergines
(serves 6)
2 or 3 aubergines
6 large ripe tomatoes
12 slices bread
Extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp tapenade
Gozo salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 sprigs of rosemary, about 7.5cm long
Choose aubergines and tomatoes of roughly the same diameter, about 7.5cm. Slice the aubergines across the width and cut two or three slices from each tomato, keeping the end pieces and letting the seeds and liquid drip through a sieve into a bowl.
Grill, roast or fry the aubergines and then the tomatoes. With a pastry cutter, cut 12 circles from the bread and fry them in olive oil. Spread with the tapenade. Between two circles of fried bread, layer the cooked tomato and aubergine and secure the stack with a sprig of rosemary.
Rub the tomato residue through a sieve and add olive oil and seasoning for a dressing to serve with the millefeuille.