Well here we are at the end of May already, the days are still lengthening and the bank holiday turned out to be lovely and warm on the whole. Having been limply laid low with cold and cough during the week I was glad to get my tastebuds back in time for some groovy outdoor moments. We had a very tasty supper involving some fresh morels, about which I shall wax lyrical briefly. They are a wondrous thing and if you are a person who thinks of the mushroom season as only being one of damp and musty autumnalness then remember that morels are around only at this time of year and should therefore be celebrated if possible! They're not cheap at around £35 p/kg but you only need a very few to make a meal special and they are in season for such a short time you can't really overspend on them - much ... anyway I was fortunate enough to be bumbling about my favourite Borough Market taking pictures and snaffled a few as they were being packed away.
Divine little frilly, earthy sponges, they soak up flavours and juices like anything. They were sauteed in butter with chopped shallots and garlic then simmered with brandy, stock and cream. Some fresh tarragon and parsley was stirred in towards the end and they were delicious settled unctuously atop some crisp griddled toast, with roasted asparagus, some Italian ham and an egg on the side - this would also be a delicious brunch dish. So go make magic with morels while you can! Clean and dry them as best you can first but don't worry about a bit of stray earth - their honeycombed surface makes this a little tricky - and remember that they do need to be cooked through, as unlike some other edible mushrooms they are poisonous when raw.
On Sunday we fancied a Stateside brunch in the garden so we made proper American blueberry pancakes and served them with crispy strips of salty, smoky, grilled bacon and more blueberries and strawberries plus generous ribbons of maple syrup. I like using buttermilk instead of ordinary milk and self-raising flour, they seem to be lighter and tastier somehow. Add a pinch of cinnamon and some grated orange or lemon zest and they go into yet another league. There's something so perfect about the salt/sweet combination here, with the juicy fruit and syrup, the bacon and the warm soft pancakes with crispy edges that makes each mouthful so darned moreish. Our eggs have extra huge orange yolks at the moment hence the colour of the pancakes are sunshine yellow here in the photo. Later on we lazed about in the shady bits of the garden with a refreshing glass of Pimms - the first of the season to go with with the rest of our first punnet of British strawbs, which were really juicy ones from Downingbury Farm in Pembury.
On Monday the weather turned stormy on and off so our barbecue was a bit hit and miss - we struggled on though! Ingredients-wise we decided to go all Greek for a change. Shop-bought taramsalata, home-made hummus and kalamata olives to nibble on while we cooked. Organic lamb mince with chopped red onion, oregano, garlic, ground cumin and coriander, fresh rosemary, mint, some lemon zest and lots of seasoning made little kofta patties to serve with home-made tztatziki, pitta bread and a fresh Greek salad. Beautiful freshly-podded broad beans just shelled and mixed with wild garlic pesto, olives and feta cheese made a good side dish and roasted peppers in the lamb and pitta sandwich were a lovely sweet and smoky accompaniment. Couldn't find any Retsina in the local offy which was a shame as I love it with Greek food, but a chilled, dry rose slipped down very well. Good job there's no Ouzo in the house is all I can say or a few plates might have been smashed - mind you I seem to do a good job of smashing plates by accident at the mo!
Happy cooking!
AMT
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