chicken, fennel and orange salad

a lighter take on things, compared to the weekend’s cheesy pasta bake, was this chicken and fennel salad from jerusalem, the new cook book from yotam ottolenghi and sami tamimi, which i have already sung the praises of and which i am continuing to cook my way through.

this saffron, chicken and herb salad has a lot of light fresh flavours but the star component is, i think, the orange and saffron dressing, which is made from a boiled orange, honey, saffron and white wine vinegar which is blitzed together and used to make a paste which is then loosened with a bit of water and used to dress the salad. a simple salad of cooked chicken, thinly sliced raw fennel plus flavourings of mint, coriander, basil, chilli, garlic olive oil and lemon juice.

one orange gives you more than enough dressing for a salad for six so make sure you have a plan for using the leftovers. they suggest using it with oily fish. i think it would be great in a salad with duck or to add zing to a carrot soup. i also saw an idea that used it as  addressing for deep-fried artichokes and i think it would be lovely with stuffed courgette flowers (especially if they are stuffed with a tangy goats cheese).

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spicy mackerel with orange and olive salad

this is the second recipe that i am entering into the fragata competition to win an afternoon cooking with spanish chef josé pizarro, having already shared with you my recipe for lamb and fig flatbreads.

this is much quicker to pull together and easy enough if you’re comfortable filleting fish (or get your fishmonger to do it for you). i marinated my mackerel fillets with a little harissa paste while i made the orange and olive salsa. this was very simple - black olives, orange segments, fresh mint and a drizzle of rape seed oil. i also added some finely chopped fragata hot peppers for a bit of a chilli kick. i then cooked the fish for a couple of minutes, skin side down, flipped it over for 30 seconds and then served it with the salsa, alongside a green salad and some crusty bread.

wonderfully simple and i hope it, with my lamb and fig flatbreads, are a winning entry to the fragata competition, click here if you want to enter too – the prize is an afternoon cooking with josé pizarro.

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pancetta-wrapped asparagus with orange dressing

i know it’s a bit late in the year for english asparagus but i wanted to share this recipe with you anyway, which i really enjoyed a couple of weeks ago.

the asparagus blanched for a few minutes and once it has cooled, then wrapped in pancetta. i then fried the asparagus in a little olive oil until the pancetta was crispy and the asparagus had finished cooking through.

the dressing, which was poured over the hot and crispy asparagus was a mix of olive oil, orange juicem orange zest and a little dijon mustard.

very simple, very summery and a little bit different.

summertime martini

a weekend cocktail for you. this summertime martini requires fresh orange juice - don’t bother if you don’t have any in – and is absolutely delicious. i have to confess though, the slightly luminous, very lurid colour (thanks to the grenadine), is one of my favourite things about it!

shake with ice 1 shot grand marnier, 1 shot gin, 2 ½ shots freshly-squeezed orange juice and ¼ shot of grenadine syrup. strain into a martini glass and, if you have one, garnish with a kumquat.

abbey martini

my namesake drink, kind of. the first time david made this martini we didn’t use fresh orange juice and it was very average – too sharp and not very interesting at all, which was a disappointment as it’s described as  a “dry, serious concoction” which is obviously far more appealing ;)

with fresh orange juice it’s a very different drink – subtle and complex with a soft spiciness that comes from the angostura bitters. well worth a try, whether you’re an abby, or not!

shake, with ice, 1 ½ shots gin, 2 shots freshly squeezed orange juice*, ½ a shot maraschino liqueur, ¼ a shot dry vermouth and 4 dashes of angostura bitters. strain and serve in a martini glass, with a cherry on a cocktail stick, if you have any (we never do!).