Veggies with yogurt dip are perfect for al fresco dining.
By Kathryn McLean
Ah, June. That means it’s summertime with bright mornings and long evenings enjoyed just sitting on the porch or watering gardens, and weekends spent outdoors.
It’s time to savour dinner on the deck or patio with friends and family. I love the summer, and my family looks forward to enjoying meals together outside, whether it’s coffee and breakfast, sandwiches on crusty buns at lunch, or pizza from the grill with garden salad at dinner.
We also enjoy snacks featuring all the local seasonal produce we wait all year to taste again: spring asparagus, strawberries, and salad greens from the garden.
Throughout the season we turn to what’s freshest and prepare that for our next meal. This might include berries and orchard fruits, or snap peas and green beans with hummus or homemade yogurt dip. We have so many fresh options growing locally in the GTA. Because they are picked when fresh, not picked and shipped long distances, the local fruits and vegetables are so flavourful. And most of them need very little preparation to bring out their best.
So here are a few ideas for simple dishes to make the most of seasonal summer produce.
Stone Fruit and Cheese Salad
This is barely a salad. Simply cut stone fruit (any of apricot, peach, nectarine, cherry or plum) into slices. Combine with crumbled feta or sliced or torn fresh mozzarella, bocconcini or burrata. Finish with a pinch of salt and pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add some fresh herbs if you like, then lightly toss together and enjoy
Yogurt Dip for Veggies
Start with 1 cup of plain yogurt. Stir in 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon or lime juice. Add a pinch each of salt, black pepper and cumin. Add some chopped fresh herbs, about a tablespoonful. If you don’t have any fresh herbs, add 1 teaspoon of dried herbs.
Stir everything, and serve with veggie sticks, snap peas, beans, bite-sized tomatoes, chunks of radish, sliced cucumber, pieces of cauliflower or broccoli, or any other fresh veggies you prefer.
Potato Salad
Potato salad can have as many or as few ingredients as you like. The base recipe is chunks of boiled potatoes dressed with wine vinegar (most vinegars will work), extra virgin olive oil, plus salt and pepper.
You can stop there or add any of these: chopped herbs, grainy mustard, boiled egg pieces, chopped spinach/kale/beet stems, small halved tomatoes, chopped celery, chickpeas, roasted or marinated veggies (peppers, mushrooms, eggplant), diced red or green onion, chopped pickles or olives or any other veggies that you think will work well. Combine everything gently and enjoy it cold.
Detailed Directions
Add chopped potatoes to salted water, bring to a boil, and cook until a knife can easily pierce to the centre of a potato piece.
Drain the potatoes, return to the pot or transfer to a large bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir gently but thoroughly to coat everything in the dressing.
For potato salad dressing, use equal parts vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, plus a sprinkle of of salt and pepper.
Consider making this simple dressing, and adjusting it to your taste. Use it for any salad, and add a few extra sprinkles of vinegar to your potato salad.
Simplest Dressing
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup wine vinegar or lemon juice
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Shake well before using.