Summer is always a bad time for bread, fruit and vegetables. As the temperatures soar, fruit and vegetables seem to wilt and perish instantly and bread goes mouldy or stale before you get a chance to use it. Add to that price increases on all three, then finding ways of keeping waste down are even more important.
Based on experience, I have found that the freezer is more than a super larder; it provides one of the best methods of preserving food. Fresh bread goes straight into the freezer and thawed only when needed. The same applies to any unwanted fruit. At a convenient time, fruit can then be made into jams or smoothies and bread can become the base of a homemade pizza, soufflé, flan or fresh/dried crumbs for coating fish or meat.
If you are opting for the freezing method, always remove stones from stone fruits before freezing. Most fruit once thawed tends to be soft and is best used in puddings, mousses or flans. Some fruit, like apricots, you can cook with a little lemon juice, rub it through a sieve, let it cool and then pack in a rigid container before freezing. For vegetables, blanching them for three minutes is recommended before freezing. Cabbage is not worth freezing. Courgettes are too soggy when thawed but freeze well if cooked in a ratatouille. Remember to label polythene bags and always place bread, vegetable and fruit in a freezer draw away from direct contact with raw meat, poultry or fish.
If you cannot freeze fruit, smoothies are one way of using left over fruit. They are wonderfully refreshing, healthy and ideal for fruit which have seen better days. Whip up a smoothie by blending together 100g strawberries with 75ml of milk and a teaspoon of lemon juice. If you like a thicker smoothie, add 100g of raspberries and four tablespoons of cream.
PEACH, PEAR AND MINT SMOOTHIE
Serves 2
4 ice cubes, plus extra to serve
2 peaches, halved, stoned and cut into quarters
1 pear, peeled, cored and sliced
1 banana,
Leaves of 1 fresh mint sprig
Clear honey, to taste
n Put the ice cubes into a blender, add the peaches, pear, banana and some of the mint leaves and whiz until smooth. Add the honey to taste.
n Pour into two glass tumblers, add some ice cubes and decorate with fresh mint leaves to serve.
STILTON FLAN
Serves 6
6 to 8 slices of white or brown bread, crusts removed
Butter for spreading
3 eggs
150g 0% fat strained yoghurt
80ml milk
60g crumbled Stilton
60g cheddar cheese, grated
50g walnuts, broken
n Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. Roll out bread and spread both sides with butter. Cut each slice diagonally and place into a 25cm flan dish, pressing slices evenly to cover the sides and base of the flan.
n Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Reduce oven to moderate; make the filling. Combine eggs, yoghurt and milk in a mixing bowl; beat well. Arrange grated cheese, crumbled Stilton and walnuts in bread case. Pour egg mixture over flan filling.
n Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is firm to the touch. If necessary turn oven temperature to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6 for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Once cooked, decorate with tomato slices.
COD WITH LEMON AND PARSLEY CRUST
Serves 2
1 thick slice stale bread, crusts removed
Large bunch parsley
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cod fillets, about 175g each
260g peas and runner beans
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
n Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Tear the bread into pieces and put in a food processor with the parsley and lemon zest. Blitz to make rough crumbs.
n Lightly oil a shallow baking dish and then add the cod in one layer. Lightly brush the fish with oil, then press on the crumbs. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, steam the vegetables until just tender, then toss in the remaining oil, mustard and lemon juice. Serve alongside the fish.
