8 New Recipes from Le Creuset to Help You Embrace The Great Outdoors

Grilled Mackerel, Spring Salad and Horseradish Dressing

A delightfully light dish yet tasty dish, spiced with a hot, peppery horseradish sauce. Mackerel is not only very good for you, being an oily fish, but it can be enjoyed guilt-free as it is also a sustainable fish.

Serves: 4

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: Approximately 8-10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 4 mackerel fillets, approximately 90g each
• 2 teaspoons light olive oil
• 8 spring onions, approximately 150g
• Salt and pepper
• 2 heads chicory, separated into leaves
• 70g watercress
• 150g radishes, finely sliced
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Dressing

• 4 tablespoons prepared horseradish sauce
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chopped chives
• 2 teaspoons chopped dill
• Salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD

1. For the dressing, whisk the horseradish, vinegar and mustard together, then slowly whisk in the oils. Season then add about 1½ teaspoons of each herb.
2. Lightly brush the grill with oil and preheat on the hob on a low to medium heat. Test the temperature of the pan – see Cook’s Notes – before adding any food.
3. Trim the spring onions if necessary then, once the pan is hot, add to the grill and cook for about 1½ minutes on each side until nicely charred in places but retaining a little bite.
4. Brush the mackerel fillets with oil and season. Grill skin-side down first for about 1 to 1½ minutes or until nicely coloured. Turn over and cook for about 1 more minute. Remove from the grill and place one on each plate.
5. Lightly dress the salad ingredients with about half the dressing and divide between plates.
6. Drizzle the rest of the dressing around, sprinkle on the remaining herbs and serve.

Cook’s Notes

• To check if the grill is hot enough add a few drops of cold water to the hot surface. If it sizzles and the water evaporates almost immediately, it is hot enough and ready for use. If the water produces steam and has no sizzle, heat the pan for a little longer and repeat the test again.
• Do not heat the empty grill for more than two minutes to avoid overheating.
• Salmon or rainbow trout fillets would also work well in the recipe or try grilling two large, whole mackerel instead of fillets.

Mediterranean Vegetables & Chicken Kofta Kebabs

Popular in Middle Eastern and Indian cooking, a kofta is a savoury ball of spiced minced meat or vegetables, grilled and traditionally eaten inside pitta bread pockets together with a yogurt and fresh herb dip and vegetable salads. This recipe will make enough to fill 4 pitta pockets.

Serves: 8

Preparation Time: 35 minutes

Cooking Time: 8 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 16 x 20cm metal skewers

Kofta Kebabs

• 500g minced chicken (a mix of breast and thigh is good)
• 25g day-old breadcrumbs, soaked in 2 tablespoons water, to soften
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 teaspoon light cooking olive oil
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 chopped red chilli
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
• 35g chopped pistachio nuts

Vegetable Kebabs

• 8 whole red vine cherry tomatoes
• 8 whole yellow vine cherry tomatoes
• 1 red pepper, cut into 8 small pieces
• 1 yellow pepper, cut into 8 small pieces
• 1 each small green and yellow courgette, each cut into 8, 1cm thick slices
• 2 small red onions, each cut into 8 small wedges
• 2 tablespoons cooking olive oil or rapeseed oil

Cacik Salad

• 200g piece cucumber, seeded and finely diced
• 250g Greek style natural yogurt
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• The leaves from ½ small bunch fresh mint, finely shredded

To Serve

• 8 wholemeal pitta breads
• 1 little gem lettuce, shredded
• 15g coriander
• ½ lemon
• Aleppo pepper flakes

METHOD

For the kofta kebabs, put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and some pepper and mix together well with your hands. Divide the mixture into 8 evenly sized pieces and shape into short stumpy sausages and place onto eight thin 20cm metal skewers.

1. For the vegetable kebabs, put all the prepared vegetables into a bowl with one tablespoon of olive oil and some seasoning and toss together well. Thread the vegetables alternately onto another eight 20cm skewers.
2. For the cacik salad, simply mix the ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste. Spoon into Stoneware Petite Casseroles to serve.
3. Heat the grill dry over a medium heat for a few minutes until hot. Once hot, lightly oil it with a basting brush. Lay the 4 chicken and four vegetable skewers side by side on the grill and cook for about 8 minutes, turning every 2-3 minutes until cooked through and nicely browned.
Keep warm while you repeat with the rest.
4. To serve, shred the gem lettuce, chop the coriander and season all with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Lightly toast the pitta breads and slit them open along one side to make a pocket. Take care of the steam. Fill each one with some of the gem lettuce. Lay one kofta kebab and one vegetable kebab inside each pocket and slide out the skewers. Spoon in some of the cacik salad, sprinkle on Aleppo pepper and serve straight away.

Cook’s Notes

• These kebabs can also be successfully made with minced beef. The addition of 1 teaspoon of nigella/kalonji seeds to the mixture goes particularly well with the beef.

Dining Together: Bring a Dish

Getting together with friends and family over the dinner table on a summer’s evening is an opportunity to be savoured. Relish the chance to cook for the crowd (and show off your new crockery) with these five simple and shareable recipes that are packed full of fresh ingredients.

Stuffed Peppers with Rainbow Chard, Beef, Leeks, Pine Nuts and Currants

These delicious red and yellow peppers are filled with a seasonal rainbow chard, rice and beef stuffing. Rainbow chard is a great leafy green vegetable that is often seen at farmers markets and in keen gardeners’ gardens and is now becoming easily available in supermarkets. It’s low in calories but is full of antioxidants and vitamins, making it a healthy choice when cooking.

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 35 mins

Cooking time: Approximately 1 ½ hours

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 medium red peppers
• 3 medium yellow peppers
• Salt and pepper

For stuffing

• 1 large leek, diced
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 250g rainbow chard, stalks sliced finely and leaves roughly chopped
• 75g long grain rice
• 450g minced beef (not too lean)
• 75g baby plum tomatoes, diced
• 185ml chicken stock
• 15g parsley, chopped
• 30g currants
• 30g pine nuts
• 2 bay leaves
• 100g baby plum tomatoes, halved
• 250ml chicken stock

To serve

• Greek yoghurt or labneh
• Lemon wedges
• Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ Fan 160°C/ Gas Mark 4

1. Cut the tops off the peppers, deseed and remove any membrane. Over a medium heat, heat the casserole with one tablespoon of light olive oil and cook the peppers on their sides, turning frequently to colour slightly and soften a little. This should take about 3 minutes and aids with squeezing the stuffed peppers into the pot. Remove the peppers from the casserole onto a plate and leave to one side. Reduce the heat to a low to medium temperature.
2. For the stuffing add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the casserole and cook the leeks until soft and lightly coloured, this should take about 5 minutes. Put these into a large bowl.
3. Return the casserole to a low to medium heat, add another tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil and add the rice and chard stalks. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, add the allspice, stirring for about 30 seconds, then add 185ml chicken stock. Season and place the lid on and cook for about 8 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the chard leaves to this and pop the lid back on and allow them to wilt in the steam for a few minutes. Add this mixture to the leeks.
4. Add chopped tomatoes, parsley, minced beef, currants and pine nuts to the bowl and season well.
5. Stuff the peppers with the mixture.
6. Clean the casserole if you wish before heating with the rest of the olive oil and add the halved baby plum tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken stock. Season and then put the peppers into the casserole and place the pepper lids on. Put the lid on the casserole and bring the stock to the boil over medium heat. Place the casserole into the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the lid and increase the oven temperature to 200°C/ Fan 180°C/ Gas Mark 6 and cook the peppers for about another 30 minutes until nicely coloured and cooked through.
7. Serve the peppers with the cooking juices (which you can boil down to thicken if you wish), a dollop of yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon.

Cook’s notes

• You can use plain green chard if rainbow is not available or spinach, failing that, preferably the more robust large leaf variety.
• The addition of crumbled feta cheese or grated pecorino or parmesan would work well in the filling.
• You could also replace the beef with pork or lamb or a mixture of meats.

Oven-baked Squash, Sun-dried Tomato, Spinach and Feta Frittata

In Italy, a frittata is simply a tortilla-like omelette made with any fresh seasonal vegetables are to hand. So, feel free to add vegetables and cheeses that you have readily available. Pretty much anything goes!

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: 50 minutes

Cooking time: 50-60 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 4 small red onions (approximately 350g)
• 500g prepared butternut squash
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 250g baby leaf spinach, washed
• 8 large eggs
• 150ml double cream
• 75g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and thinly sliced
• 200g feta cheese, crumbled
• 40g finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ Fan 160°C/ Gas Mark 4

1. Peel the red onions, leaving the root intact, then slice through the root into thin wedges. Cut the prepared butternut squash into 2.5cm sized pieces. Put the squash and onion wedges into a roasting tin with 2 ½ tablespoons of the olive oil and some seasoning, then toss together. Spread out in an even layer and roast for 30 minutes, or until both are just tender.
2. Heat a large non-stick pan over a medium heat, add the spinach leaves and cook for 1-2 minutes until they have wilted down into the base of the pan. Tip into a colander and gently press out the excess liquid. Season lightly.
3. Lightly grease the rectangular dish with olive oil. Beat the eggs and cream together with 25g of the Parmesan cheese and some seasoning. Arrange half the roasted butternut squash, onion wedges, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese in the dish and pour over half of the egg and cream mixture. Repeat once more and then sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
4. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes until the frittata is set, covering loosely with a sheet of foil towards the end of cooking, to prevent it from over-browning. Serve hot, ambient or leave to go cold. It can also be prepared and kept for a couple of days to be served cold.

Cook’s Notes

• Any mixture of your favourite vegetables will work well in this frittata. If you are short on time, replace the roasted vegetables with varieties that are quicker to cook; spring onions, broccoli and halved cherry tomatoes together with the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and feta is a flavourful combination.
• Replace the Parmesan with your favourite type of vegetarian hard cheese or vegan cheese, Violife Prosociano Vegan Cheese Style is a good choice.

Plum, Strawberry and Pistachio Polenta Cake

Made with polenta and lots of finely ground nuts, this cake is moist and has a wonderfully light and crumbly texture. It is delicious served warm as dessert with the rose-scented cheesecake cream, or cold as a cake with a cup of tea.

Serves: 10-12

Preparation time:  20 minutes

Cooking time:  1½ hours

INGREDIENTS

• 125g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
• 4 ripe but firm deep red plums (approximately 200g)
• 200g shelled, unsalted pistachio nuts
• 250g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 60g Greek-style natural yoghurt
• 200g dried polenta
• 75g self-raising flour
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 small lemon
• 150g small strawberries, halved
• 2-3 tablespoons honey, warmed

For the Rose-scented Cheesecake Cream

• 150g full-fat cream cheese, such as Philadelphia
• ¼ teaspoon rose water, or to taste
• 25g icing sugar
• 100ml double cream
• 50g Greek-style natural yoghurt
• Dried rose petals/freeze-dried strawberries/pomegranate seeds/extra chopped pistachio nuts, to decorate – choose any combination to decorate the cake

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 170°C/ Fan150°C/ Gas Mark 3½

1. Grease the inside of the casserole with butter and line the base with a 19cm disc of non-stick baking paper. Halve the plums, discard the stones and cut the fruit into wedges.
2. Put the pistachio nuts into the bowl of a food processor and grind coarsely. Add 50g of sugar and grind once more until really fine and the texture of ground almonds.
3. Beat the butter in a bowl for 1 minute until soft. Add the remaining sugar and beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in 50g of the ground pistachio nuts, followed by the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the remaining ground pistachio nuts, yoghurt, polenta, flour, lemon zest and lemon juice.
4. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared casserole and arrange the plum wedges and strawberry halves on the top. Bake for 1½ hours or until a skewer, pushed into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. Remove from the oven, brush the surface with the warmed honey and leave to cool.
5. Meanwhile, for the cheesecake cream, beat the cream cheese, rose water and sugar together in a bowl until smooth. Lightly whip the cream in another bowl into soft peaks. Fold this into the cream cheese mixture with the yoghurt. Spoon into a Le Creuset Stoneware Petite Casserole and decorate with the dried rose petals, freeze-dried strawberries and/or pomegranate seeds and extra chopped pistachio nuts. Serve with the cake.

Cook’s Notes

• If you are not fond of the flavour of rose water in the cheesecake cream, simply add the finely grated zest of 1 lemon instead.