Summer Cooking

This is a Book Week guest post from Joanna, aka Mrs M, aka Madamding.

It’s no real secret that I love a cookbook. At the last count my kitchen shelves were groaning under the weight of approximately 250 books. Whilst I may have hundreds of books, I still tend to play favourites, turning to certain books time and time again at certain times of the year.

When summer rolls around, the first book I always pull off the shelf for inspiration is Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer. For me this book IS summer. I was given a copy of this book by a friend, it having not originally caught my eye but now it has become a firm favourite.

As with all Nigella Lawson books, the recipes are quite simple and easy to follow, with good photography. As you would expect from the title, this book focuses very much on the tastes of summer, ranging from soups to salads, barbecued meat to curries and of course, desserts. Many of the recipes are a little more special than your average summer dinner making them perfect for entraining friends and family as they are simple but have a good bit of the WOW factor.

My favourite recipe in the book, by a country mile, are the lamb patties. These are incredibly good and have become such a staple in our house. Served with copious amounts of hummus and Greek yoghurt, these are completely moorish and I guarantee you will eat them until your waistband pops.

A close second is the Ultimate Greek Salad. This to me is one of the most perfect summer dishes, light and refreshing. It’s designed to be a side but is easily substantial enough to be served as a main alongside some warm crusty bread.

The tremendously titled Slut-red raspberries in chardonnay jelly sound completely decadent don’t they, and they are. Nigella herself describes them as "heaven on a plate" and she’s not far wrong. This is a gorgeous summer dessert that you serve with double cream and would impress your guests no end.

If you’re looking for a cookery book that personifies a lazy, laid-back summers day, then this could be the one for you!

Joanna blogs at At home with Mrs M and can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.