FOOD: A light summer pasta and a delicious dessert

Despite the threat of a coming potato shortage caused by a wet start to the planting season, there is plenty of seasonal produce out there to enjoy. Irish summer fruits from raspberries to gooseberries are ripe, as are lots of garden favourites, from cucumber to broccoli.

Sweet red
Strawberries are in! Delicious, temping, and enjoyable; better than a bar of chocolate. Try these with fluffy American pancakes. American pancakes rise up because they use baking powder. They are thicker, sweeter and fluffier than our more traditional, thinner ‘crepe’-style pancakes. Their softness acts an excellent bed for sweet strawberries, with a dressing of cream etc.
To make them, just mix 200g of self-raising flour with one-and-a-half teaspoons of baking powder, three good-sized free-range eggs, 200ml milk, a tablespoon of castor sugar in a bowl, then fry the mixture with vegetable oil over a medium high heat. Serve with cut strawberries, and maple syrup for the full American experience, or cream or yogurt for our North European twist.

Bean green
Broad beans are a fabulous summer vegetable; verdant, green, textured and delicious, they go particularly well with a creamy sauce. There are many recommendations for cooking broad beans so you remove their outer shell. I don’t think I have ever done that, and I still enjoy their natural delights!
Here is a recipe inspired by Catherine Fulvio that balances the unique character of broad beans with the sexy attributes of a creamy pasta sauce.

Pasta with broad beans and asparagus sauce
Serves 4

What you need
200g broad beans
500g pasta (shorter twists and swirls if possible)
15 asparagus heads
6 spring onions, sliced
2 garlic clove peeled, chopped
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
120g Feta cheese, crumbled
Zest of half a lemon
250ml cream
100ml white wine
70g parmesan, grated
Rapeseed oil for frying
1 bunch basil leaves
Seasoning

What you do
Cook the broad beans in a pan of well-salted boiling water for 3 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook for another minute. Remove the asparagus and beans from the water with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate. Begin to cook your pasta in the same well-salted water.
Meanwhile, fry the spring onion over a medium heat for two minutes, until translucent. Ad the garlic and fry gently for another minute. Add the wine and cook for two minutes, stirring. Add the cream and lemon zest.
Bring the mix to a bubble – it’s important for the cream to reduce a little – for two minutes. Now add the thinly sliced fennel and cook for another two minutes.
Tip in your drained pasta, carrying over a little of the pasta water, which is an excellent starch for the sauce. Sprinkle the parmesan on top, stir all together, season and serve out in bowl plates. Lastly, take your cooked greens and distribute them evenly over the four bowls of pasta, top with extra freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle basil leaves. Happy summer days!

— Redmond

Redmond and Sandra Cabot live in Lanmore, outside Westport, with their children, Penny and Louis. Fresh, seasonal foods are their passion – shopping at country markets, growing their own veg and producing their own dips and sauces and for sale.