Summer is not a time for spending too long in the kitchen. Cook we must, though, as eat we always will, so here are some dishes to make you want to get cooking, quickly, before getting out, just as quickly, eating well and then assuming a horizontal position somewhere under a tree.
Harissa pilchards with zingy herb salsa (pictured top)
Tinned fish makes one of easiest, tastiest, quickest and most cost-effective meals, and I often use it straight from the tin just with whatever delicious oil or sauce it’s been sitting in. In this recipe, I spice up pilchards with some harissa and herbs – all it needs is some toast to soak up all that tomatoey goodness, but, if you like, smother some pasta in it to make a light supper.
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 2-4
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
50g rose or regular harissa
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 x 400g tin pilchards in tomato sauce, drained and liquid reserved – I like the Glenryck brand
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
½ tsp caster sugar
Fine sea salt and black pepper
200g green beans, fresh or frozen and defrosted, cut in half width ways into 3cm lengths
For the salsa
30g coriander
4 spring onions, trimmed
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp caster sugar
Put a large frying pan for which you have a lid on a medium heat, then toast the cumin and coriander seeds for two to three minutes, until fragrant. Tip into a mortar and lightly grind the seeds until just broken.
Add the olive oil, harissa and garlic to the pan and put it on a medium-high heat. Mix well, cook for two minutes, until the mix starts to spit, then add the reserved pilchard liquid, the tomatoes, half the toasted spices, sugar, a teaspoon of salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes, until the mixture thickens.
Pour in 230ml water, bring to a simmer, then add the beans and pilchards. Shake the pan gently to combine everything, then cook for five to seven minutes, until the beans are tender and the sauce has again thickened.
Meanwhile, make the salsa. Finely chop the coriander and spring onions, then put in a small bowl with the olive oil, garlic, vinegar, sugar and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Mix well and set aside.
Scatter the remaining spices on top of the pilchard mix and serve with half the salsa spooned over the top and the rest in the bowl on the side.
