Summer may be drawing to a close but before it departs, there’s a chance to celebrate the best of the season’s goodness with these two dishes which are easy to make and would be ideal for a late summer dinner party.
The main course, salmon with a pancetta, pea and baby gem stew is a French classic; that lovely combination of salty bacon, sweet peas and cooked lettuce served with a nice piece of salmon with a good, crispy skin works really well.
Some may think it’s unusual to cook lettuce but the French have been doing this for decades, while Italians enjoy chargrilled radicchio.
Baby gem lettuce, split in two and gently fried in butter is also delicious. Cooking lettuce may be a bit of a trend, but it provides a good contrast of textures and flavours.
Today’s sweet, banana parfait is a great standby because it can be served straight from the freezer. Caramelised banana is delicious and easy to make using a blow torch – which are priced within reach of everyone these days – while the rich, dark chocolate sauce makes it special.
FILLET OF SALMON WITH A PANCETTA, PEA AND BABY GEM STEW
SERVES 2
2 large fillets of salmon
50g lardons of dry cured pancetta
75g fresh peas, blanched and chilled
2 small baby gem lettuce, chopped roughly
2 chopped cloves of garlic
100ml light chicken stock
40ml double cream
Small handful of flat parsley chopped
Salt and pepper
Splash of olive oil
Squeeze of lemon
Gently warm a sauté pan and add a splash of olive oil and allow to warm. Add pancetta lardons and fry until just starting to turn crispy, then add the garlic and fry for 20 seconds, taking care not to let it burn. Next, add the lettuce and sauté for 1 minute. Throw in the blanched peas and chicken stock and season. Reduce by half and add the double cream and reduce by a third again. Finally, add the parsley and lemon juice, mix in and remove from the heat. Keep warm.
Place a frying pan on the heat to get hot, and add a splash of olive oil, allowing to get hot again. Season the fish and place the fillets of bream into the pan, skin side down. Cook, resisting the urge to touch and poke around with it, until the skin becomes crispy (2-4 minutes). Turn fillets over for 1 minute and flip back on to the skin side for more than a minute, add lemon and remove from heat.
Warm up the pea mixture and divide into two warm shallow bowls and place a salmon fillet on top. Finish with a drizzle of good olive oil and serve.
BANANA PARFAIT WITH CARAMELISED BANANAS AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE
SERVES 4-6
FOR THE PARFAIT
300g peeled bananas (about 4)
3 egg yolks
60g caster sugar
30ml water
180ml double cream
Zest and juice of half a lemon
FOR THE BANANA SLICES
3 bananas (half a banana per person)
50g icing sugar
FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE
100g dark chocolate (plus extra for the shavings)
100g butter
Drizzle of honey
First make a sugar syrup by placing the sugar and water in a small pan. Bring to the boil, then boil fast for 3-4 minutes until it has reached soft ball stage, when a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft, flexible ball, but flattens like a pancake after a few moments in your hand.
Whisk the egg yolks with an electric mixer until pale and thickened, then pour on the boiling hot sugar syrup continuing to whisk until the mixture (sabayon) has fluffed up and thickened to a smooth, pale yellow mix. Leave to cool in the fridge. Mash the bananas until lump-free and stir in the finely grated lemon zest and juice. Whip the cream until soft peaks have formed. When the sabayon has cooled, fold in the bananas and lemon then the cream. Pour into 6 x 100ml dariole moulds and freeze for at least four hours or overnight.
For the banana slices, chop the three bananas into even rounds. Sit on a plate or metal tray and liberally sieve over the icing sugar (a tea strainer is good for this). Then blow torch the tops to caramelise the sugar.
For the chocolate sauce, melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl set over a pan of just simmering water, stirring until glossy. Add a drizzle of honey and pour into a squeezy bottle with a nozzle if you plan to go fancy with your pattern! Otherwise simply drizzle a little onto each plate.
For the chocolate shavings, either use a peeler or a sharp knife, scraping along the bar of dark chocolate. Alternatively, grate the chocolate.
Have cold plates ready to serve as the parfait will melt quite quickly once turned out. Turn out a banana parfait on to each cool plate. Decorate the plate with the caramelised banana pieces and drizzle around some chocolate sauce. Top with chocolate shavings and serve.