DINING OUT
with
There’s no better way to celebrate the British summer than by coming together with friends and family for an outdoor feast. These meals create lasting memories and often come to define a particular summer.
For the first in a new series celebrating the joys of eating outside, we visit Lucy Carr-Ellison and Jemima Jones of Tart London for a lunchtime feast.
The beautiful riverside setting lies in Wiltshire’s Wylye Valley, in a garden that slopes gently down from Lucy’s family home and looks across the water to a field of cows beyond.
Lucy and Jemima, who do outdoor dining like no others, have set the table for lunch with two delicious salads made using seasonal ingredients and produce from the garden, alongside crusty bread, cured meats and very cold wine.
They have generously shared the recipes for both salads, which can be found below, alongside one for a sensational apricot and almond cake—best enjoyed rocker-side, with cream.
We hope this inspires a little less work in the garden and a little more convivial enjoyment, especially during these final days of summer.
COURGETTE, PEA & HERB SALAD
4 medium courgettes, very thinly sliced
100g fresh peas
1 red chilli, finely chopped
Small handful of fresh mint, basil and tarragon (leaves picked)
80g smoked cheddar, very thinly sliced
Parmesan
Dressing
Zest of 1 lemon & juice
3 tbsp good quality extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp chardonnay vinegar
1 tsp honey
Whipped ricotta
300g ricotta
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Slice the courgettes as thinly as possible on the diagonal, ideally using a mandoline. Keep them raw and place in a large bowl.
For the dressing, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, Chardonnay vinegar, honey and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust if needed – it should be fresh and sharp with a touch of sweetness.
If using fresh peas, blanch briefly in boiling salted water for around 30–60 seconds, then cool immediately and drain well. If using frozen peas, simply defrost and drain.
Whip the ricotta with the lemon zest, olive oil and a good pinch of salt until smooth, light and creamy.
Around 10–15 minutes before serving, gently toss the courgettes with the dressing, peas, chilli, mint and tarragon. Tear in the basil at the end. Gently fold through the thin pieces of smoked Cheddar.
Spoon the whipped ricotta generously on your serving plate. Loosely pile the dressed courgettes, peas, herbs and smoked Cheddar over the top, spooning over a little of the remaining dressing. Finely grate plenty of Parmesan over the top, followed by a little fresh lemon
zest, flaky sea salt and black pepper. Finish with a generous drizzle of really good extra-virgin olive oil and serve straight away.
BUTTERBEAN, OLIVE & TOMATO Salad
750g butterbeans (or any white beans)
250g green beans
200g black olives
Handful of tomatoes, chopped
Half a red onion, sliced
1 in tuna
Olive oil
Chardonnay vinegar
Chopped parsley
Blanche the green beans and plunge into cold water.
Whisk together olive oil & vinegar (3:1).
Place white beans, green beans, olives, tomatoes and red onion in a bowl and toss with the dressing. Season and add tuna and parsley. Mix and serve.
Apricot and Almond cake
450g apricots, or peaches. Stones removed and thickly sliced
260g caster sugar
200g self-raising flour
80g ground almonds
1 ½ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
230g butter
1 lemon, zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
180ml milk
Line a 24cm springform cake tin and pre heat the oven to 180c.
Cut the apricots into thick slices, place in a bowl and scatter with a spoon of sugar and combine.
Place the butter, vanilla, lemon zest and the rest of the sugar in a bowl and beat until light and creamy. Add the eggs one by one and beat until smooth (don’t worry if it curdles).
Add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and combine. Add the milk and combine, then spoon into the prepared cake tin.
Top with the apricots and place in the oven for a good 40 - 50 minutes – the cake should be golden and a skewer come out clean. Leave to cool. Serve with ice cream or cream.
The cake will keep for a good few days.
The rocker and parasol are in Dark Khaki, with Polperro Stripe Pink on the rocker interior and Polperro Stripe Yellow on the table
Photography and film by Elena Bazu