Sweet and salty has become a popular combination in recent years, and for good reason. My first experience of these opposite flavours colliding was through fruit when, in the 1990s, my mum would make a rich, slow-cooked Californian beef dish with salty kalamata olives and juicy orange slices, and I remember fixating on how moreish the combination was. There was also one particularly mind-blowing feta, fennel and peach salad from a tattered old Mediterranean cookbook that I was allowed to make from when I was about eight, and I usually ate handfuls in the process. Here are two new recipes with fruit that I hope will make you feel bold enough to combine fruit into savoury dishes more often.
Nectarine, tomato and feta yoghurt salad
In my early 20s, I worked as a chef on a farm in Tuscany. As the temperatures rose throughout August, so did the crops. We had an abundance of ripe and ready tomatoes and nectarines in overwhelming quantities, which is why we started combining them in the same dish. I now find it hard to eat one without the other in a summer salad. The sweet flesh of the nectarines works so well with the acidity of the tomatoes, while the silky layer of feta yoghurt is a gamechanger in this simple and refreshing salad that’s perfect for hot summer days. If feta’s not your thing, simply make the tomato and nectarine salad and eat it with a hunk of bread to mop up the dressing.
Prep 35 min
Cook 5 min
Serves 6
3 ripe yellow- or white-fleshed nectarines
3 large ripe tomatoes
Salt and black pepper
1 large handful basil leaves, torn
7 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp sherry or white-wine vinegar
200g feta, crumbled
400g full-fat thick greek yoghurt
40g fresh chunky breadcrumbs, made from blitzing stale bread such as sourdough
1 tbsp za’atar
Cut the nectarines and tomatoes into chunky wedges, then put them in a bowl and scrunch over some salt and a grind of black pepper. Rip in the basil, add four tablespoons of the olive oil and the vinegar, and leave to steep for 30 minutes.
Blitz half the feta with the yoghurt and a tablespoon of the oil in a food processor until smooth and silky, then fold in the remaining crumbled feta and a pinch of salt. Spoon this into a bowl, then cover and put in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan, add the breadcrumbs and fry for three to five minutes, until golden brown. Stir in the za’atar, cook for two minutes more, then take off the heat and leave to cool completely.
Spoon and swirl the yoghurt on to a serving dish. Top with the nectarines and tomatoes, spoon over the oily juices from the bowl, then finish with the crunchy za’atar breadcrumbs.
No-knead cherry and fennel seed focaccia
I’m a real advocate for reaching into your spice cupboard to elevate a simple dish. Fennel seeds are one of those many spices that are bought for a particular dish, used once and then forgotten about, but, in reality, they can be added to so many home-cooked dishes. I like to toast them and whisk them through a dressing, sprinkle them on ripe tomatoes or macerate strawberries with a tablespoon of crushed fennel seeds before piling on to a crisp pavlova with softly whipped cream. They work particularly well in fruit-laden dishes such as this easy focaccia. The hum of aniseed is really special with the sweet-and-sour cherries. Eat it just as it is, or serve it with a good, ripe goat’s cheese or burrata and some peppery leaves for lunch.
Prep 30 min
Prove 1 hr+
Cook 25 min
Serves 12
500g strong white bread flour
7g fast-action dried yeast
10g fine sea salt
8 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
½ tbsp runny honey
250g fresh cherries
2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 tsp flaky sea salt
Tip the flour into a large bowl, add the dried yeast and weighed salt, then mix to combine. Pour in four tablespoons of the olive oil, all the honey and 400ml tepid water, mix to a wet, shaggy dough, then tip into a well-oiled bowl. Cover and chill overnight to rise, or prove at room temperature for an hour to an hour and a half, until doubled in size.
Once doubled in size, gently grab one side of the dough and fold it over the other side, tucking it under until taut – be gentle, though, so you don’t knock out the air. Turn the bowl 180 degrees, pull the dough up and over itself again, then cover again and leave for 20 minutes. Repeat this process three more times at 20-minute intervals.
Oil the base and sides of a roughly 23-30cm rectangular baking tin, and line the base with baking paper. Tip the dough into the tin and stretch it out to all the sides. Leave to rise in a warm place for another hour to an hour and a half.
Stone the cherries (use a cherry pitter or push a metal straw through the centre of each cherry to pop the stone out). Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Drizzle the remaining oil over the focaccia, then push the cherries into the dough all over the top. Sprinkle over the fennel seeds and salt, then bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and risen. Remove, leave in the tin to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve.
