Bring the flavours of your favourite holiday destinations to your dining table this summer with these recipes by James Martin, Georgina Hayden and Gino D’Acampo
Valencia beans and red prawns recipe
(serves two)
A simple seafood dish inspired by James Martin’s travels around Spain
Ingredients:
75ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, diced
1⁄4 leek, diced
1⁄2 carrot, peeled and diced
1⁄4 green pepper, cored, deseeded and diced
3 bay leaves
2 whole smoked chilli peppers (or a pinch of chilli flakes)
300g cooked butter beans
50ml water
Splash of white wine
Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
8 red prawns, split lengthways
Sea salt
Method:
If you want to use a barbecue heat it until hot and the coals are white.
Heat a medium paella pan and, when hot, add the oil, then add the garlic, all the vegetables, the bay leaves and the smoked peppers. Cook for two to three minutes, then stir in the beans, 50ml of water and the wine and cook for three to four minutes. Season with salt and finish with the parsley.
Meanwhile, pop the prawns onto the barbecue, drizzle with oil and season with salt, then cook for two to three minutes until charred, turning once or twice. Alternatively, grill on high for three to four minutes.
To serve, remove the smoked peppers (if using) from the beans and then pile the prawns on top of the beans and drizzle with extra olive oil if desired.
James Martin’s Spanish Adventure by James Martin is published by Quadrille, priced £27. Available now.
Whole grilled halloumi with apricots
(serves two to four)
With a winning flavour combination, this whole block of halloumi is treated like any other form of protein – score, season and grill
Ingredients:
1 250g piece of halloumi
Olive oil
4 apricots
2tbsp honey
A few sprigs of oregano or thyme
Method:
1. Pre-heat your grill to medium-high. Carefully score the top of your halloumi in a criss-cross pattern – don’t cut too deep, you want to keep it intact. Rub the cheese with olive oil, in between the cuts, too. Halve the apricots, remove the stones, and halve again into quarters. Place the halloumi in a snug dish (ideally metal) and nestle around the apricots, drizzling them with olive oil, too.
Pop under the grill, not too close, and grill for eight to 10 minutes, so that the fruit starts to caramelise and the halloumi is tender and charred on top. The success of this recipe depends on having the right distance from the grill and heat, so check a few minutes into cooking and see if you need to raise the temperature or lower the grill bars. It’s quite a forgiving technique, so take your time and see what works with your grill.
When the halloumi is ready, drizzle with honey and scatter over the thyme or oregano. Serve immediately.
Greekish: Everyday Recipes With Greek Roots by Georgina Hayden is published by Bloomsbury, priced £26. Available now.
Risotto cremoso con zucchine, piselli e peperoni
(Serves four to six)
With peppers and courgettes, there’s plenty of hidden veg in this deceptively decadent dish from chef Gino D’Acampo
Ingredients:
8tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1tsp roughly chopped thyme leaves
1 large yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped into 1cm cubes
1 large courgette, chopped into 1cm cubes
500g Arborio or Carnaroli rice
150ml dry white wine
1.5L hot vegetable stock, made with stock cubes
200g frozen peas, defrosted
60g salted butter
0g finely grated parmesan cheese
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Pour the oil into a large heavy-based saucepan, place over a medium heat and fry the onion, thyme, pepper and courgette for 10 minutes until soft, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Add the rice and fry for three minutes, stirring to allow the hot oil and vegetables to coat the grains. Stir in the wine and cook for a further minute, allowing the alcohol to evaporate.
Pour in a couple of ladles of hot stock and bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat and continue to cook and stir until all the stock is absorbed. At this point, please stay with the saucepan, because you need to keep stirring the risotto.
Stir in the peas. Pour in the rest of the stock, a little at a time, cooking until each addition is absorbed before you add the next. It will take 18–20 minutes and you may not need to add all the stock.
Once the rice is cooked, take the pan off the heat and add the butter, parmesan, two teaspoons of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper.
Stir all together for 20 seconds, allowing the risotto to become creamy and all the ingredients to combine properly.
Serve on warmed plates and enjoy.
Gino’s Italian Family Adventure by Gino D’Acampo is published by Bloomsbury Publishing, priced £22. Available now.
