Spirit of Summer 2: England

by Andrew Barrow, Posted Sep 8th 2005 @ 9:34AM

pertelote screenshot My second Spirit of Summer (the first, South Africa, was with Jeanne of Cooksister) interview was with Jenni of Pertelote fame - an English food blog full of tantalising recipes and restaurant visits.

Jenni, Memories of Summer?

Jenni: As a child I spent my summer holidays on the Suffolk coast, so my food memories are of fish and chips and sweet smoked prawns, and the salty tang of sandwiches eaten on a windy beach. We knew the holidays were nearly over when rows of swallows queued on telephone wires and instead of advertising Pick Your Own raspberries and redcurrants, roadside farms offered tiny, rosy Discovery apples. I still get that 'Back to School' pang when they appear in the markets. Nowadays, though, the mixed feelings are regret that I didn't squeeze in just one more feast of summer produce - and a twinge of excitement at the thought of colder days and slow-cooked, spicy, comforting stews...

The English summer is a bit of a joke in so many ways. Our unreliable climate means that typically it is nasty and short - with the best bits spent overseas in search of some sunshine. So many of my culinary associations with summer have nothing to do with England - crisp deep-fried calamari at a pavement cafe in Barcelona, a long cool glass of refreshing rose in the South of France, gelato on the evening promenade along the Italian seafront...

But the good stuff can be found in England too, with a bit of perseverance. From the first home-grown asparagus, through broad beans and strawberries to early game and apples, summer is our chance to eat fresh, local produce without the penitential dirt-scrubbing and repetitious soups of the winter veg box.

The vividness of these flavours means that summer is the one time of year when we can cook without extensive recourse to other cuisines: the curries and stir fries that brightened up the colder months give way to tiny jersey royal potatoes boiled briefly and annointed with nothing but butter, and exotic peppery salad leaves to soft heads of floppy lettuce.

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Filed Under: Spirit of Summer, On the Blogs
Tags: british isles