A Bit of Summer in the Fridge

On Wednesday 1^st May (you probably remember it; this year's summer) I picked some wild garlic and when I got it home washed it and puréed the leaves in my mini food processor together with some soft salted butter. See here for lots of delicious flavoured butter ideas.

I often find that the best way to clean out the food processor is to firstly wipe it out with something edible before washing it.  So having a couple of small crusts (a bit of ciabatta and a tiny crust of multigrain) I made some croutons - tear up bread, wipe out processor with it, spread on baking tray and, next time oven is on, bake till crisp and golden - good with soups, salads or as a nibble. More information on making croutons here.

I put the Wild Garlic Butter in the fridge and waited for inspiration.  So far this is what I have used it for ...

Spicy Noodles with Salmon and Wild Garlic

I had a bit of salmon skeleton in the freezer.  You might think this is odd but we bought about half a salmon from which I cut some meal sized pieces and froze the remains for later use.  I just poached the skeleton for a few minutes and then carefully removed all the flesh from the bones - more than enough for me, in fact I finished it on toast the next day!  Economical or what!

I also had a few cooked noodles in the fridge so made myself a lovely sudden lunch. 

I just melted some wild garlic butter and tossed in the noodles and salmon till hot, added a squeeze of lemon and finished with an extra knob of garlic butter to keep my cholesterol up!

A Wild Garlic Hasselback Potato

I think I cooked hasselback potatoes about 30 years ago but if I did the details escape me.  A friend jogged my memory by putting a picture of one on FB so I thought I'd have a go and I have to come clean and say ... it was not quite as nice as a jacket potato, in my opinion.  This is not to say that it was at all unpleasant, mind you.

~   Preheat oven to 400ºF/200ºC/180C fan/gas 6 

~   Wash a handsome baking potato and cut into thin slices BUT NOT ALL THE WAY THROUGH.  Leave them attached by about 10mm at the bottom.

~   Rub with olive oil, season and bake for about 30 minutes. 

~   Brush with Wild Garlic Butter and continue to cook till tender and crisp which could take up to another 30 minutes depending on the size of the potato.

I ate mine with salad, more wild garlic butter and a little freshly shredded Parmesan.

Crevettes in Lemon Ramsons Butter

We bought some reduced cooked crevettes yesterday and I have just eaten them warmed through in said butter together with a squeeze of lemon.  Yummy over rice.