Heirloom Tomato Bonanza

The farmer's market is overflowing with the season's final crop of heirloom tomatoes. They are best served in all their jewel-toned glory with fresh mozzarella and roughly torn basil leaves, and drizzled with sea salt, black pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Summer in a mouthful!

Pineapple Salad with Cilantro and Sea Salt

I hate to call this a recipe—it really is just an excuse to use leftover fruit and herbs. But after marinating in the fridge for a couple hours, simple pineapple miraculously transforms into a fragrant salad or side dish, perfect as an accompaniment to grilled meat or fish, or just as delicious served as dessert.

Ingredients 

2 lbs [1 kg] Pineapple, cut into 1” cubes
¼ cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 tsp Sea Salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
Pinch of Paprika
4 tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil

1. Combine pineapple, cilantro and sea salt in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 mins.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to allow the flavours to steep. Serve cold.

Watermelon, Red Onion, and Feta Salad

Nothing says summer more than watermelon. But three months into the season, I’ve over-dosed on the fruit and am constantly thinking of fresh, new ways of serving it. Pairing perfectly ripe watermelon with pungent red onion and creamy feta is unexpected, but utterly delicious. And the fragrance of mint takes this salad to the next level of happiness and contentment.

Ingredients
3 lbs [1½ kg] Watermelon, cut into 1” cubes
1 medium Red Onion, thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lime
16 oz. [½ kg] Feta cheese, cut into ½” cubes
½ cup Mint leaves, finely chopped
¼ cup Parsley, finely chopped
1/8 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
¼ cup extra virgin Olive Oil

1. Combine watermelon, red onion and lime juice in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 mins.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the flavours to steep. Serve cold.

Fennel Orange Arugula Salad

Now that we’re in the dog days of summer, most weeknight meals are low on stovetop cooking, and are mainly a light, cool salad accompanied by whole-wheat pita and sweet tea or limeade. I let the produce at the farmer’s market inspire the salad of the day, and try to keep the prep-work to a minimum by using, large pieces of fruit and roughly sliced vegetables.

In this colourful salad, sweet, mandarin orange segments, and peppery arugula balance the licoricey scent of crunchy, raw fennel.

Ingredients 

Dressing: 

2 tbsp freshly squeezed Orange Juice
4 tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil
1/8 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
Pinch of Salt

1 large Fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and cut into half-moon slices
3 cups Arugula
3 Shallots, finely sliced
3 Mandarin Oranges, with segments removed and peeled
¼ cup slivered Almonds, lightly toasted

1. Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
2. Combine fennel, arugula and shallots in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss well. 
3. Add orange segments and almonds and toss gently, making sure not to break the orange segments. Serve immediately.

Seared Ginger Prawns with Jicama-Mango Salad

This dish exemplifies, probably more than anything else that I’ve posted, the hybrid, culinary experimentation that I’m so fond of. Some of you may recognise Vietnamese influences in the pairing of lime and ginger, while others might point out the Latin overtones of the salsa-like jicama-mango salad. In fact, all these are commonly found Indian ingredients that fuse together into an easy, pan-continental style.

For my Indian readers—jicama is the Spanish name for the lowly root vegetable that we call shankhaloo in Bengali. It’s crunchy freshness, coupled with the sweetness of mango, unexpectedly balances the briny-ness of the prawns. Together, they are a perfect dish for a warm and muggy summer evening.

Ingredients

1¼ lbs [½ kg] Prawns, peeled, de-veined, and washed
1-inch piece Ginger, peeled and finely minced
1 tsp Garlic, finely minced
½ tsp Sriracha chilli sauce (or any Asian chilli sauce of choice)
2 tbsp Ponzu sauce (or Soy sauce)
1/8 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
Pinch of Salt
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

For the Salad: 

½ lb [225 gms] Jicama, peeled and diced
½ lb [225 gms] Mango, peeled and diced
2 Shallots, finely sliced
3–4 fresh Green Chillis, finely minced
½ cup Cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt (to taste)

1. Mix the prawns with ginger, garlic, chilli sauce, ponzu sauce, black pepper and salt in a bowl. Cover with plastic-wrap and let marinate in the fridge for 30 mins. 
2. Mix all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside for 15 mins to let the flavours steep. 
3. Remove prawns from fridge. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat until it is smoking. Add prawns to the skillet and sear on one side for 2 mins. Then flip the prawns and sear on the other side for another 2 mins until golden brown. [Alternately, you can cook the prawns on a gas or charcoal grill over indirect heat.] 
4. Serve warm, plated with the jicama-mango salad.