2019-07-01+Health+&+Fitness

Satisfybodyandsoulwiththesedelicioussummerdishes

W

hetherit’stheblossomandfairylightsof

Megan’sbytheGreen,theflowerwallat

Megan’sontheHillortheal frescodining

‘room’atMegan’sKing’sRoad,theseLondon

restaurantsarefastbecomingamongthemost

Instagrammablein town.All-daybrunchesandhealthy

saladsbrimwithMediterraneaninfluenceand,with

anotherbranchatBattersea’siconicpowderstation

settoopensoon,it’sa formulathatclearlyworks.

ButMegan’sfoodphilosophyis morethanthat.

‘Firstandforemost:cookingis nota science,it’san

art,’sayMegan’sAclandGeddesandPedrodaSilva,

‘andit canbedonebyanyone.Youjustneedtostart

experimentingandfindingyourway.’Sowhilehelpis

athandin theirbeautifulbook,SummerEveryDay

(RylandPeters& Small,£14.99),therecipesit contains

aren’ttheretobeslavishlyfollowed,but,believethe

authors,aimtoteachyouthetechniquesandmethods

youneedtolearntocookfromtheheart.

‘Tostickwiththeartanalogy,they’rejustshowing

youwhichmaterialsandcolourstendtoworkwell

together,’sayGeddesanddaSilva.‘Youdon’thave

tofurtivelyadda pinchofchilliwhenthebookisn’t

looking.You’retheboss,notus.’

Oneofthemainlessonstheauthorshavelearnt–

onethatis responsibleforthewholeethosofMegan’s

and,‘if we’rehonest,itssuccessalso,’theyadmit– is

thatdespitewhatmostpeoplethink,foodis notthe

be-allandend-all.‘Ofcourseit’simportant,butthe

ambianceandsettingareequallyso.If youdon’tfeel

relaxed,youwon’tenjoyyourmeal.Whenwe

hostlargepartieswepreparehugebanquetboards

overflowingwithsalads,curedmeats,bruschettasand

oozingCamemberts.Welaythemacrossthemiddle

ofa coupleoftrestletablesandeveryonetucksin.

It’samazinghowit bringseveryonetogether.’

WelovethelookofrecipessuchastheRawparsnip

saladwithcurrydressing,Butterflyprawnswith

avocado,harissaandyoghurtandMintedpeapuree.

Butit needn’tstopthere.AsGeddesanddaSilva

say:‘Whatwehopemostofallis thatourrecipes

willgiveyoutheinspirationandconfidencetogetin

thekitchenandstartdevelopingyourowndishes.’

Happyexperimenting!

Quick tip

‘SomeofthemostpoeticEnglishphrasesI’veheardcamefromthemouthsofnon-English

speakers.If a novicecancreatebeautythroughlanguage,whycan’tyou,withcooking?’

GRILLED MACKEREL, ORANGE, FENNEL& RED ONION SALAD

Serves: 8

Perserving: 494 calories,43gfat(7g

satfat),20gprotein,4gfibre,5gcarbs

(5gsugar),1.7gsalt

8 largemackerelfillets

Seasaltandgroundblackpepper

Forthetapenade

250gblackKalamataolives,pitted

1 garlicclove,peeled

30gpinenuts

½ buncheachbasilandparsley

1 tspdarknavyrum

4 tbspoliveoil

Freshlysqueezedjuiceof½ lemon

3 tbspcapers

3 anchovyfillets

Forthevinaigrette

100mloliveoil

Freshlysqueezedjuiceof½ lemon

Pinchofsugar

Forthesalad

2 oranges

4 bulbsfennel

1 redonion

1 smallbunchflatleafparsley,

chopped

1 sprigfreshtarragonordill,

roughlychopped

Tomakethetapenade,put

all theingredientsin a food

processorandpulseuntila rough

paste.Addextraoilto loosenif

neededandsetaside.

Cuttheskinofftheoranges

andcarefullycuteachsegment

betweenthemembranessoyouhave

a wedgeof pureorangewithnopith.

Slicethefennelandredonion

asthinlyaspossible.Mix

togetherthecutorangesegments,

fennel,redonion,flatleafparsley

andtarragonor dill.

Pre-heata ridgedgrillpanor

barbecue.Putall thevinaigrette

ingredients,alongwiththereserved

orangejuice,in a liddedjarandshake

to emulsify.

Seasonthemackerelfilletswith

saltandpepper,sprinklinga

littleextraontheskinsideto help

releasetheoilsduringcooking.Gently

placethemonthehotgrillpanand

cookforaround5 minutes,or until

theycanbeturnedovereasily.Finish

cookingontheotherside.

Dressthesaladwiththe

vinaigretteandputthemackerel

filletsontop.Spoona littletapenade

ontoeachfilletandserve.

4

3

5

6

recipes

WORDS: Eve Boggenpoel

COOK FROM

your heart

2

1