Continuing her series, the gardener and writer presents her favourite produce ready to be harvested from the plot and shows how

to savour the flavours in fresh, seasonal recipes

this month: potatoes, courgettes & edible flowers

with Sarah Raven

Grow &CookPHOTOGRAPHS BY JONATHAN BUCKLEY | FOOD & DRINK EDITOR ALISON WALKER

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July is the month to revel in your allotment or garden. On a beautiful day, spend half an hour in the early evening, harvesting what you’re going to eat that night. Dig some potatoes, gather courgettes and pick a salad – your first

cucumber and some dill, as well as a handful of summer salad leaves and a clutch of edible flowers for colour.

For an early potato with good flavour, grow ‘Sharpe’s Express’. By July, that will be joined by ‘International Kidney’ and the yellow, waxy ‘Belle de Fontenay’. A special selection of ‘International Kidney’ is the variety grown as the Jersey Royal. These are all best cooked in salted water with a stem of mint. If it’s been dry, cook them for about ten minutes and then drain most of the liquid. Finish by steaming until they’re soft to the point of a knife. This stops the outer section collapsing. I use all three of these as salad potatoes and add ‘Winston’ for early baking or mashing.

Now is the time to enjoy courgettes, while they’re still small and nutty, with rigid flesh and invisible

seeds, as well as lots of flowers to pick. The more you harvest a courgette, the more it crops. I always grow at least three different colours – a yellow and a dark green such as ‘Defender’ with good disease resistance, as well as a paler eau-de-nil ‘Bianca’. Eat the yellow (such as ‘Soleil’) while as small as possible, as they quickly form a tough skin. You don’t notice the different colours under their huge leaves in the garden, but once you bring them in, they look good mixed up in a salad bowl.

‘Romanesco’, the dark green courgette with ribs, is an old favourite, too. Its flavour and texture has a hint of artichoke hearts. Poach it for two minutes in stock, then slice thickly, slosh with olive oil and toss with chopped basil or flat-leaved parsley.

I grow the round ‘Custard Apple’ cucumber as well as a small-fruiting variety, ‘La Diva’. It’s a prolific producer of sweet, crunchy cucumbers, twice the size of a cigar. I have raised it successfully in the garden and in my greenhouse, and I love to eat it with dill.

July is also one of the most floriferous months of the year, with the greatest range of edible flowers. Nasturtiums are getting going and anchusa is growing at full tilt, as is its cousin, borage. These mix well with English marigolds, such as the rich crimson-backed Calendula ‘Indian Prince’. It’s also the start of the four-month dahlia season. If I’m only picking one, I use the thin-petalled cactus variety ‘Urchin’ to scatter over a salad, but I also love a general jamboree of orange (‘Happy Halloween’), purple (‘Ambition’) and crimson-blacks (‘Rip City’ or ‘Chat Noir’). e

Gardener, writer and cook Sarah Raven tends a wide range of vegetables and fruit at Perch Hill Farm in East Sussex, and is an expert on how to grow, cut and eat from the garden

this page Sarah turns out the first early bags of potatoes in July and assesses her new potato trial. The crop will be used to create a range of delicious summer dishes

FOOD & DRINK

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FOOD & DRINKSTRAPLINE HERE

Chicken puttanesca PREPARATION 25 MINUTES. COOKING

ABOUT 40 MINUTES. SERVES 6

This tangy one-pot dish (above) needs only a salad to make it a meal. It’s also good with the potatoes left out and served with rice or mash instead.

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

20 anchovy fillets (in oil)4 garlic cloves, peeled and

roughly chopped600g cherry tomatoes (I used

the orange ‘Sungold’ here to give extra sweetness)

3 tablespoons good-quality mixed marinated olives (stoned)

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed 1 tablespoon olive oil12 skin-on, boneless chicken

thighs650g waxy potatoes, such as

‘Belle de Fontenay’, ‘Ratte’ or ‘Pioneer’ (a waxy variety from supermarkets), slicedinto four lengthways

200ml white wine

bunch of fresh basil (about 30g), stems removed

1 Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) gas mark 4.2 Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a heavy-based shallow casserole dish. Add the anchovies and garlic and gently fry for 2-3 minutes, until the anchovies have melted, but the garlic has not browned. Add the cherry tomatoes, olives and capers, and turn down the heat to simmer gently.3 Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Put the chicken (discarding the oil), potatoes and wine into the tomato mixture and stir well to combine.4 Cover the casserole and cook in the oven for 15 minutes. Stir well so the chicken and potatoes are coated in the puttanesca sauce, then return to the oven for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes, before stirring in the basil leaves. Taste and season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper, if required, and serve. e

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this page, clockwise from top left Sarah picking cucumber ‘La Diva’; beautiful courgette flowers; cucumber ‘Crystal Lemon’; courgette ‘Striato d’Italia’

130 JULY 2013 countryliving.co.uk

Garlic and rosemary-crushed potatoesPREPARATION 25 MINUTES. COOKING

50 MINUTES. SERVES 6

My children call out for this as soon as they see new potatoes coming in from the garden. 1 head of garlic1kg new potatoes50g butter1 tablespoon finely chopped

rosemary3 tablespoons olive oilgrated pecorino (optional)

1 Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6.2 Put the head of garlic onto a piece of foil and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes until soft.3 Meanwhile, scrub the potatoes, then cook in salted boiling water for 15 minutes until tender. 4 Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Drain the potatoes and crush them roughly. Squeeze out the soft garlic from the cloves and add it to the melted butter with the finely chopped rosemary. 5 Toss the crushed potatoes in the garlic butter mixture and season well. Drizzle with the olive oil. Place in an ovenproof dish and roast until golden brown and crisp on the top. Scatter a layer of freshly grated pecorino (if using) over the top before serving.

Courgette filo piePREPARATION 35 MINUTES. COOKING

55 MINUTES. SERVES 6

This is my lighter, healthier version of a Greek classic, cutting down on the amount of pastry and cheese. It’s a perfect mid-week supper and is just as nice served cold the next day.

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing

400g red onions, finely chopped

500g leeks, finely chopped2 garlic cloves, peeled and

finely chopped600g courgettes, finely

chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

60g fresh mint, leaves removed from stalks, roughly chopped

60g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

250g pack of filo sheets (12-sheet pack)

finely grated zest of 1 lemon1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted25 Kalamata olives or good-

quality mixed olives, stoned1 heaped teaspoon dried mint200g feta, crumbled2 medium eggs, lightly beaten2-3 teaspoons sesame seeds 1 Heat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan oven) gas mark 3. Grease the base and sides of a 23cm diameter x 7cm deep cake tin.2 Put 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a large pan set over a medium heat. Add the onions, leeks and garlic, and stir well. Turn down the heat to low and cook gently for 10 minutes until

this page Sarah’s healthier twist on the classic Greek filo tart makes the most of small and nutty freshly picked courgettes and seasonal herbs

Garlic and rosemary crushed potatoes

Courgette filo pie

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softened. Add the remaining olive oil, the courgettes, chilli (if using) and herbs, and continue cooking gently over a low heat for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.3 Lay a sheet of filo over the base of the prepared tin and mould it gently into its shape, allowing the ends to fall over the edge of the tin. Brush with oil. If it breaks up a little, don’t worry. Repeat with five more sheets of filo, brushing each one with oil as you go, again letting the pastry hang over the edge. 4 Add the lemon zest, pine nuts, olives and dried mint into the courgette mixture, stirring well to combine. Now spoon the mixture into the filo-lined tin. Scatter over the feta, then pour in the beaten eggs.5 For the top of the pie, layer over 3 sheets of filo, brushing each one with oil, then fold the hanging edges over onto the top of the pie, pressing down gently. Brush the top with oil and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes until golden.

Salmon tartare with cucumber and dill saladPREPARATION 40 MINUTES, PLUS

STANDING. SERVES 6 AS A MAIN

COURSE OR 8-10 AS A STARTER

This elegant dish looks good served in small glass Kilner jars, or piled into a mound on each plate. Sometimes I like to spice this up with a pinch of dried chilli flakes. The cucumber salad is at its most delicious eaten fresh, but it’s also fine if made the day before.

600g fresh salmon fillet, skinned and cut into small cubes

juice and zest of ½ lemon400g hot-smoked salmon

fillets, skin removed and flaked

3 heaped tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

1 heaped tablespoon dried dill or fennel seeds, toasted

splash of olive oillimes or lemons, to serveFOR THE SALAD

1 large cucumber100ml rice wine vinegar110g caster sugargood bunch of dillFOR THE SWEET MUSTARD DRESSING

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard1 tablespoon golden caster

sugar2 tablespoons olive oil

1 First, make the sweet mustard dressing for the salmon: put all the ingredients into a small bowl and mix to combine.2 Place the cubed salmon fillet in a large mixing bowl. Add the sweet mustard dressing, lemon juice and zest, and season with salt and freshly ground black

Salmon tartare with cucumber and dill salad

Sarah’s favourite cucumber is a small fruiting variety called ‘La Diva’. Pickled and served with dill, this sweet and crunchy type makes the perfect companion for a rich salmon tartare

pepper. Stir well to combine. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and again stir together gently – try not to break up the hot-smoked salmon flakes too much. Check the seasoning and add more lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper if needed.3 Spoon the mixture into Kilner jars, cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours or, even better, overnight, allowing the flavours to develop.4 To make the salad, stripe the cucumber by peeling along the length at intervals, and then slice it as thinly as possible lengthways into long thin strands using a potato peeler. Heat the vinegar in a small pan over a low heat and stir in the sugar until it is dissolved. Allow to cool. Finely chop the dill. Mix everything together and leave for at least an hour. Drain the liquid from the cucumber (of which there will be lots) and serve with the salmon and a quartered lemon or lime on each plate. e

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A handful of edible flowers, such as these vibrant dahlias, brings colour and interest when scattered over simple summer salads

Dahlia ‘Urchin’

Dahlia ‘Con Amore’

Dahlia ‘Happy Halloween’

Dahlia ‘Raffles’

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CL READER OFFERSarah Raven is offering Country Living readers a 10 per cent discount on preserving jars, perfect for the salmon tartare or other homemade produce. Visit sarahraven.com or call 0845 092 0283, then use code CLJULY13. Offer valid from 5 June to 4 July. See sarahraven.com for full offer terms.

Japanese griddled courgettesPREPARATION 10 MINUTES. COOKING

ABOUT 10 MINUTES. SERVES 4

This simple dish is delicious on its own and is excellent with any fish or meat. Use a mix of colours – yellow, dark green and light green courgettes, as well as perhaps some baby patty pans. 600g small courgettes2 tablespoons groundnut,

peanut or rapeseed oil2 tablespoons mirin (rice wine)2 garlic cloves, peeled and

finely chopped 1 Top and tail the courgettes. If they’re small, cut in half. If they are larger, cut them into 6-7mm slices lengthways.2 Meanwhile, heat the griddle pan for 5 minutes until very hot. Pour the oil evenly over the griddle and add the courgettes. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn them over, then add the mirin, garlic, and some salt and black pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until they’re just beginning to soften to the tip of a knife. Serve at once.

Summer flower saladPREPARATION 15 MINUTES. COOKING

ABOUT 3 MINUTES. SERVES 8

It’s surprising how many flowers are edible. All violas, roses, pinks and dahlias can be eaten, as well as nasturtiums (such as ‘Black Velvet’, pictured left), courgettes, chives, borage and marigolds. I also love the flowers of runner beans, rocket and dill in salads.

20 nasturtiums or mixed flowers

8 handfuls of salad leaves (3 or 4 different varieties)

4 tablespoons good olive oiljuice and grated zest of

½ lemon2 handfuls of any soft green

herb (such as mint, parsley, coriander or chervil)

3 heaped tablespoons seeds, such as pumpkin, sunflower, poppy and sesame (optional)

1 Toss all the salad ingredients together, except the seeds, using your hands. Do this just before you would like to eat. 2 If using, dry-fry the seeds in a pan for 2-3 minutes. You can toast them in the oven for a few minutes until they turn golden-brown (or silver for mustard seeds), but it’s quite easy to burn them this way. Throw the toasted seeds over the top and serve. d