Summer is here. Butterflied leg of lamb with grilled asparagus, turkish chopped salad and romesco sauce

It feels like summer is finally here ... at last.
On Saturday night we went to a fabulous party at the home of the lovely Little's, Tim and Julia.It was really fantastic a balmy evening, really nice people, great food (salads courtesey of Ottolenghi)and in my case rather too many Mojitos followed by a considerable amount of red wine. We eventually returned home at what is for us the very ungodly hour of 3 AM.
On Sunday we had Gus back from Uni, Joe, Martha and both Grandma's for lunch.
This combo of recipes(some of which I have written about before)seemed to suit the mood and my hangover perfectly. They are nice and light, summery and very very easy to do.
I made the Romesco the night before and prepared the salad about an hour in advance leaving the dressing to about 30 mins before we ate.
I think everyone both young and old enjoyed the lunch .... which was finished off by a lovely polenta cake that Lisa made.
However I particularly enjoyed the sleep in the sun that followed


Moro's butterflied leg of lamb (serves six to eight)








* 1 leg of lamb, 1.5-1.8kg (3lb 5oz-4lb)

For the marinade:

* 2 cloves of garlic, crushed to a paste

* 1 tsp sweet paprika

* the juice of 1 lemon

* 2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves

* 1 tbsp olive oil

Remove all skin and fat from the leg and bone it. Open out the meat with a knife so it is more or less the same thickness throughout, divide into four pieces and trim again if necessary. (Better still, ask your butcher to do it.)

Place the lamb in a shallow dish. Mix all the ingredients - except the olive oil - together with some black pepper, and rub this marinade all over the lamb. When it is rubbed in well, pour on the olive oil and leave the lamb to marinate for at least an hour, turning the pieces occasionally, or, preferably, leave it in the refrigerator overnight so that the flavours really permeate the meat.

When you are ready to cook, season the lamb well. Place on the barbecue for about five to eight minutes either side for pink meat, turning once or twice (leave it a little longer if you like it well done). Remove from the grill to rest for a few minutes before serving.




Turkish Chopped salad

• 24 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cucumber, peeled
• 1/2 small red onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 red pepper, halved and seeded
• 1 green pepper, halved and seeded
• 3 heaped tablespoons each of roughly chopped fresh coriander and parsley

Dressing

• 1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste with salt
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper „

To serve

• 300g Greek yoghurt thinned with 2 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon Turkish chili flakes warm Flatbread or pita bread

Method

For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together and taste for seasoning.

Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and red and green peppers very finely and place in a bowl. Do not be tempted to use a food processor. Add the herbs and dressing. Toss well and check for seasoning. Spread the chopped salad out on a large plate. Spoon the yoghurt over the centre of the salad.
Sprinkle with the chili flakes.




Romesco sauce

Ingredients

* 3.5oz/100g whole blanched almonds

* 2oz/55g shelled hazelnuts

* 1 small dried red chilli, crumbled

* 3 garlic cloves, peeled

* 6 tbsp olive oil

* 2oz/55g stale white bread, cut into .5in/1.5cm cubes (you can toast or fry this first)

* 5oz/140g piquillo peppers, or 2 medium red bell peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded (I used a jar for ease)

* 1-1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar, or a mixture of the two

* 1 tsp tomato purée

* 40 strands saffron, infused in 8 tbsp boiling water

* half tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika

Method

Place the almonds and hazelnuts on a tray, and dry roast in the top of the oven for about 20 minutes or until light golden-brown.

Traditionally, this sauce is made by pounding the bread, nuts, garlic and the peppers together in a mortar with a pestle.

I used a food processor. Once you have a coarse paste, transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the olive oil, water, the vinegar, the remaining garlic clove - crushed, the tomato puree, saffron, paprika, salt and pepper.

Taste for seasoning. If the sauce is very thick, add a little water and/or more olive oil.

Romesco can be made in advance.








Grilled asparagus

Break off the thick ends of the asparagus spears
Pre-heat the griddle pan
drizzle a tiny amount of ex virgin olive oil and rub so each spear is very lightly coated
Grill the asparagus from raw until nicely charred but still al dente.
Drizzle with more extra virgin and sprinkle some flaked sea salt over