Here at The Culinary Food Group, we are all about cooking seasonally and using the freshest produce we can get our hands on! Summer is one of the best seasons for an array of different fruits, vegetables, seafood, and meat, and it is always best to cook with ingredients that are in season to get the best flavours in your dish. Cooking seasonally also adds variety into your diet and by eating seasonal foods, food waste is reduced higher in the food chain, so try opting for seasonal foods where possible!
Some popular summer vegetables include aubergine, wild garlic, asparagus, cucumber, corn on the cob, tomatoes, spinach, and bell peppers to name a few. New season potatoes are also available and are delicious topped with some of our Simply Prepared Butters! Herbs that are in season in Ireland in the summer months include basil, coriander, dill, mint, parsley, sage, and thyme, so it is a wonderful time of year to add some great flavours to any dish!
A lot of fruits are also in season in the summer months and are a great addition to salads, ideal for baking with or simply eating as they are. Fruits in season include strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and rhubarb.
Crab, lobster, prawns, and mackerel are also in season during the summer, especially toward the end of the summer in August! Seafood can be cooked on the BBQ for a lovely smoky flavour and added to salads for a perfect evening dinner,
We have created a lovely Summery dish for you to try out, please find the recipe below for our Crab Salad with New Potatoes and Charred Corn.
Ingredients:
400g New Irish Potatoes
2 Simply Garlic & Herb Butter Pellets
2 Corn on the Cobs
Handful of Wild Garlic
200g Crab Meat
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
100g Rocket
Fresh herbs such as mint, chives, dill, parsley, cress
Salt and Cracked Black Pepper
Method:
- Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Season generously with salt and bring to the boil.
- Cook until tender, about 15 minutes, then drain. Cool slightly, then smash the potatoes lightly with Simply Garlic and Herb butter pellets.
- Turn on your BBQ and grill the potatoes and corn, until charred.
- Transfer potatoes to a bowl.
- Cut the kernels off the corn and add to the bowl with the wild garlic, crab meat, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, rocket, fresh herbs, and season generously with salt and black pepper.
- Enjoy!