Something For the Weekend #4
In which I give you SIZZLING BBQ seafood skewers with chilli mango salsa, spiced potato, tomato and curry leaf salad and salt'n' pepper baked strawberry cheesecake...
Well hello there you lovely people, and welcome to the fourth ever ‘Something For the Weekend’. Woah, we are racking up the months, and I can’t quite believe we’re already four deep. How time is flying. This month I’ve gone all out with some really bold summer recipes that take advantage of the season’s strawberries; our penchant for cooking outdoors (I know so many of you loved last SFTW’s chicken barbecue - and thanks for the amazing feedback on that!), and some far flung flavour inspiration garnered on our travels. There’s an easy but elevated seafood kebab and magnificent mango salsa situation for all your summer soiree needs, a delicious Sri Lankan inspired potato salad like you’ve never tried before to go with (or use elsewhere), and an utterly indulgent, ingenious crustless baked cheesecake that I’m going to go as far as to say is my favourite new cheesecake, and those that have followed my recipes for a while will understand why that is a big deal (my first cheesecake recipe from my debut cookbook sort of became a thing)…
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Most of us don’t cook enough seafood, but it’s something that just screams summer to me, so I’ve come up with these super forgiving, easy-to-ace seafood kebabs which will knock the socks off anyone you happen to cook them for. And they’re designed with summer gatherings in mind. I’m aware that seafood is expensive, so I think that bulking it out with squishy charred veg, as you do in these skewers, is a real winner. As well as lovely fresh fish and seafood, they rely on a special secret marinade to do some of the legwork, and they’re served with an incredible lime and chilli-laced mango salsa inspired by all the beautiful mangoes we ate in Sri Lanka. I think you’re going to love the combination of sweet, charred, tangy, slightly spicy and smoky flavours at play in these kebabs.
I feel like we’re sometimes put off cooking seafood because, a), it’s expensive, and b), it’s quite easy to mess up or overcook, so it can feel a little intimidating, but it really is one of the quickest things you can cook, making it ideal entertaining food, as you don’t have to be stuck at the barbecue tending (and missing out on the fun) for long. If you get your side dishes and salsa prepped ahead, then it’s really just a reasonably quick - if careful - sizzle, and you’re good to go. The magic really is in the prep here - the punchy marinate which boosts the flavours in the seafood is simple, but so good that even if - god forbid - you slightly overcook the kebabs, they’ll still taste absolutely banging. The mango salsa melds fruity, citrussy flavours, and the gentle heat here pairs so well with fresh seafood. As an aside, it’s also great with seared tuna steak or fish tacos, too - trust me when I say it’ll become a hot ticket at all your seafood feasts.
The tempered potato, curry leaf and tomato salad is based on a tempered potato curry we ate regularly as part of our rice and curries in Sri Lanka, and it combines earthy new potatoes with jammy, tangy tomatoes, aromatic curry leaves and a delightful blend of spices, delivering a burst of complex flavours that work really well as a side to the kebabs or as part of a curry spread. It’s also essentially a traybake, so really easy to pull together. And for dessert, my gosh do I have something outrageously good for your sweet tooth. I give you my favourite new cheesecake…
Why do I love this ‘Salt ‘n’ Pepper Strawberry cheesecake’ recipe so much? Because it tastes like salted clotted cream fudge, with strawberries that have been infused with strawberries’ very essence. Is that a good enough reason? While I’ve clearly borrowed the crustless, caramelised baking method from the famous Basque cheesecake - a dessert which has become hugely popular among restaurants all over the world since being originally popularised in San Sebastian - this is a slightly denser bake, more akin to a New York baked cheesecake than the airy, wobbly Basque variety, and that’s because I’ve taken a leaf out of Honey and Co’s book to include a hit of feta in the mix, because there’s something incredibly special about the flavour profile of salty goats cheese when it meets syrupy strawberries. I also adore its unapologetically rustic appearance - you’ll see I’ve taken my cake to the very edge of being burned - it’s not, it’s just a very deep brown - but I adore those deep, dark, fudgy bruleed flavours alongside the sweet-salty dairy and syrupy fruit. It’s heaven.
