4 Easy Summer Recipes That Everyone Will Love
As the weather becomes warmer, you don’t want to be spending large amounts of time slaying away in a hot kitchen, instead you want to be spending time outside in the gorgeous weather and with your family/friends.
Luckily, I’ve compiled a few easy summer recipes that won’t take too much time or effort to whip up. I’m serious, some of these recipes will only take around 30 minutes or less. It will also include plenty of light dishes like, simple seasonal pasta dishes and grilled chicken salad. So carry on reading for easy summer recipes that everyone will love!
1. Chicken, baguette & tomatoes with pesto
If you love pesto & chicken then you will love this dish. It’s an easy, preparation-light choice for the whole family – with chunky pesto, pine nuts chicken, tomatoes and sliced baguette traybake.
Ingredients
- 4-6 small chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 4 slice baguette
- 4 tbsp pesto, plus extra to serve (optional)
- 350g cherry tomatoes
- Handful of basil leaves (optional)
Directions
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan. Then cut out a square piece of baking paper for each chicken thigh, brush the baking tray with oil and lay on the baking paper squares.
- Top each piece of baguette with chicken thigh, season and 1 tbsp pesto onto the chicken.
- Arrange the tomatoes and bake for 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked. If the chicken isn’t cooked, return it to the oven for another 10 minutes before checking again.
- To serve, scatter over the basil leaves and if you love pesto, add more!
2. Next-level chicken caesar salad
Toss in the lettuce, croutons and cheese. Drizzle over the garlic dressing to give that traditional caesar salad – plus add in the griddled chicken to take the flavour to the next level.
Ingredients
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- 2 Chicken breasts (with skin on – optional)
- 2 Garlic cloves, crushed
- 100ml Olive oil, plus extra for dressing
- 250g Sourdough bread
- 100g parmesan
- 4 Anchovies in oil
- 1 tbsp Mayo
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 Romaine lettuces
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Remove the skin from the chicken and set it aside, then cover it with cling film and bash out to flatten slightly. Then place the chicken into a large bowl with half of lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt/pepper – set aside.
- If you want to make some crackling, then lay down the chicken skin on a baking sheet and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt. Place another piece of baking parchment on top, then weigh it down with a baking tray. Roast for about 25-30 minutes until crisp and golden.
- In the meantime, trim the crust off the sourdough and tear the centre into pieces. Tip the sourdough pieces onto a baking tray, drizzle the rest of the olive oil, finely grate 15g parmesan and toss everything together – make sure the bread is completely coated in oil and cheese and baked, along with the crackling into the oven for 15-25 minutes until golden and crunchy.
- For the dressing, use a pestle and mortar to crush the remaining garlic to a paste, then mash into the anchovies. Spoon into a bowl and finely grate in 10g parmesan, then add the remaining lemon juice, mayo and mustard. Lastly, stir in 4 tbsp oil gradually.
- Then for the chicken, heat a griddle pan until smoking and griddle the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until just cooked and set aside.
- Trim the lettuce into bite-size pieces slice the chicken into pieces – use a peeler to shave or grate the remaining parmesan.
- To serve, place the lettuce, croutons, chicken and cheese into a large salad bowl and drizzle the dressing. Toss everything together well, drizzle with more dressing and scatter with the crackling. Serve!
3. BBQ chorizo potato salad
Spice up your traditional potato salad with chorizo. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a summer barbecue- great for serving a crowd.
Ingredients
- 4-6 large cooking chorizo (or 12 small ones)
- 750g new potatoes, halved if large
- 3 tbsp mayo
- 150ml soured cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Celery Stalk, finely diced (optional)
- 1 tbsp dill, very finely chopped
Directions
- Pop the potatoes into a pan of cold salt water and bring it to a boil before allowing it to simmer for 15 minutes or until tender – when a knife goes through the potatoes easily.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and then return them to the pan, to allow them to stand for 5-10 minutes to steam-dry. Cut into bite-sized pieces, season with salt, cover and chill until cold.
- Heat the BBQ (or heat a griddle pan for cooking). Halve each large chorizo lengthways, cut-side down, on the BBQ (small chorizo go on whole). Cook, make sure one or twice, until they are crisp around the edge and cooked through. Slice the chorizo into pieces.
- Combine the mayo, mustard and soured cream before adding the cold potatoes with the celery and dill.
- Lastly, gently fold the potatoes into the dressing but don’t break them up too much. Scatter the chorizo on the top just before serving.
4. Picnic quiches
You can’t bet you a tasty quiche! And now you can have little ones that are ideal for picnics and summer days out. A crisp, short pastry base and a pancetta, cherry tomato and parmesan filling.
Ingredients
For pastry
- 100g cold butter, diced
- 1 medium egg yolk
- 180g plain flour
For the filling
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- 400g pack of cherry tomatoes on the vine
- 90g pack thin pancetta rashers
- 3 eggs plus 5 egg yolk
- 250ml double cream
- 1/2 small pack of basil, finely chopped
You will also need
- 10 tartlets (7.5cm diameter each)
Directions
- Firstly, heat your oven to 200C/180C fan. Place the tomatoes in a roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil and season. Roast for 25-30 minutes or until they shrink and darken, then remove and leave to cool.
- Dry-fry the pancetta until crisp and golden and then set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper and leave to cool.
- In the meantime, start preparing the pastry. Put the flour and 1/2 tsp salt a few times into a food processor. Then add the butter and whizz for about 20 seconds or until you have a fine crumb. When the processor is going add 2-3 tbsp of ice-cold water and 1 egg yolk.
- Mix until a dough but make sure not to over-process. Remove the dough, press it into a lump, wrap it in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- After it has rested, lightly dust the work surface with a little flour and roll out the dough, to a very thin layer – about the thickness of a lasagne sheet.
- Line each tartlet with pastry by cutting a circle around a plate or bowl that is slightly larger than the tins. Place the pastry inside the tin and then press into the fluted edge and allow the excess to fall over the top edge.
- Re-roll the pastry off-cuts until you’ve lined all your tins, then pop it into your fridge again for 30 minutes or until firm.
- Heat your oven to 200C/180C, and line the tart cases with baking paper and baking beans, bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, then bake for a further 5 or until it is just about to turn lightly golden. Then brush them, with egg whites – which creates a seal to protect the pastry from becoming wet for the filling and ensure a crisper pastry case.
- Scatter half the grated cheese and crumble the crispy pancetta into each tarte case. Nestle in the roasted tomatoes, then top with the remaining cheese.
- Place the remaining eggs into a jug and beat, then add in the cream and some black pepper, plus the basil before beating it all together.
- Put a baking tray in the oven to heat up, then place the quiches on the hot tray and carefully pour the egg mix over the filling until the cases are full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and puff up. Allow to cool, before chilling in the fridge until ready to serve. {You can make these up to a day ahead.}
You May Also Like
Dry January – What Happens To Your Body When The Alcohol Is Off The Menu
Quick And Easy Vegan Lasagne Recipe
