Welcome
Midsummer, complete with an extra-long Jubilee weekend at the start, arrives this month – and with it (we hope), a spell of lovely weather. Take advantage of BBQs and outdoor eating with the brand-new recipes in this issue. There are gorgeous griddled greens and ricotta flatbreads in our cover feature, alongside easy wins like skewering kofte on rosemary twigs to make the dish look extra-special (find all the recipes here). There’s also an dinner for six that’s ready in 30 minutes, because confident cooks know that taking a few shortcuts doesn’t make a long lunch with friends any less special (see here). Warm days are also for sharing a pizza. If you think you know New York and Detroit slices from al taglio, check your knowledge with our pizza decoder.
A reminder that you can find all our recipes on olivemagazine.com, and our new star rating system means you can see what others are making and enjoying. Make yourself an account and you can save your favourites to use time and time again.
We’ve teamed up with Warner’s Gin this issue to help inspire your summer entertaining. Find great drinks ideas here, and check out its competition to win a year’s gin membership.
This month I’m…
Listening
Sliced Bread on BBC Radio 4. A series that looks at hyped products, from wagyu beef to health drinks, and tests them to see if they really are the best thing since sliced bread. (There are also non-food subjects.) The wagyu episode involves a taste test and fascinating insight into supermarket buying power.
Reading
An article by Mark Williams (follow on Instagram @markwildfood) for foragers-association.org about how to pick wild garlic sustainably. ‘Thinning’ rather than cutting is advocated, as the bulbs need leaves to sustain them year on year and the flowers are important to insect populations. Bookmark for next season (usually February-May).
Eating
Sundried capers – La Nicchia ‘crunchy capers’ are not salty but still caper-flavoured. I like them sprinkled on lentil and fennel salad or in spaghetti with prawns and lemon. They also make an addictive little snack on their own. £8.99 (30g) from souschef.co.uk.