Day 124: juicy mouthfuls for summer eating
With the forecast of a promisingly sunny week ahead, I thought it was about time we had a Nigella Summer-themed line-up for 365 Days of Nigella. Of course, I have already cooked a couple from this wondrously uplifting trove of gorgeousness; the Saffron Scented Chicken Pilaf and Crab with Linguine, Chilli and Watercress being particular favourites that have graced our table on more than one occasion throughout this cookalong. While I am aware that the theme of the book is about prolonging the wonderful eating of summer into even the darkest, gloomiest months of winter, I think it seems a shame not to dedicate a chunk of this cookalong to the beautiful array of summer-seasonal ingredients that are currently available to us.
I took to Twitter on Tuesday evening asking for recommendations from Nigella Summer (or Forever Summer as my edition is called) and, after a retweet from the queen herself, a wonderful medley of summer eating suggestions came flooding in. To name a few: Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad; Chicken and Cashew Nut Curry, Honey Semifreddo; Thai Crumbled Beef in Lettuce Wrap; Mauritian Prawn Curry; Kerala Fish Curry; Sicilian Vinegar Chicken; Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova. I could go on!
I’ve chosen to start with perhaps the (for me) unlikeliest choice of all: the Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad. I say unlikely, because, to me, the concept has never held much allure. In recent years I’ve seen the feta and watermelon combo become viral on Instagram; video after video of people just eating it, and not saying much interesting at all. I thought it was just a fad. A viral food trend. And I, shamefully, admit that I never even stopped to consider its origin and that it was in fact a very popular dish in Middle Eastern cuisine. Shame on me. I know! But I also blame these fads for not giving the cultural nod to such cuisines. Unlike Nigella, who tries her very best to give us the background on anything and everything she cooks and writes about.
It wasn’t just stubbornness in refusing to jump on a fad train. After all, Nigella’s version, and indeed the traditional version, predates the viral social media age. If truth be told, I just didn’t really like the sound of cheese and melon. But, so many of you recommended it, this cookalong is about trying new things, and I had all of the ingredients (in some form or other) already in the house.
Nigella’s Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad
The ingredients alone are stunning. I used a soft, creamy feta and kalamata olives from the Mediterranean stall at our Makers Market that I bought on Saturday, as well as some plain, pitted black olives from a jar I had in the fridge. I don’t often have limes, as they shrivel and dry up so quickly so I only buy them as I need them, but I had a couple left over from the weekend. I always try to have parsley - I quite happily tear off leaves to chew on each time I go to the fridge (I keep mine like a bouquet in a glass of water in the fridge door) - and we have an abundance of mint taking over in the garden. We also bought a small, sweet watermelon at the weekend.
We had this for a late lunch, but I started steeping the onions when I got up in the morning to bring out more juiciness and reduce a little more of that unwanted acrid raspiness. As the feta I used was quite soft, I tossed this through last and very gently.
Flavour musings
An awakening tonic for the sluggish and muggy days, and a quenching cooler for the hot and dry days. Restoratively nourishing and refreshingly hydrating. Nigella’s Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad has just become essential summer eating in this house. Juicy mouthfuls in summer.
