The British summer offers a relatively short window of genuinely excellent seasonal produce. From mid-June through August, British strawberries, broad beans, courgettes, runner beans, fresh peas, new potatoes, cucumbers and a range of salad leaves are available at their peak, and at their most affordable. The best thing you can cook with them is simple.
These ten recipes are chosen because they are actually worth making — not because they photograph well, but because they taste good and can be on the table within 30–45 minutes on a weekday evening.
1. Broad Bean and Pecorino Crostini
15 minutes, serves 4 as a starter
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Pod 500g of broad beans (buy around 1.2kg in their pods). Blanch for 2 minutes, drain, and slip off the pale outer skins — the bright green inner beans are what you want.
Rough-crush the beans in a bowl with a fork. Add the zest and juice of a lemon, 3 tablespoons of good olive oil, salt and pepper, and a small handful of fresh mint if you have it. Toast 8 slices of sourdough, rub each with a cut garlic clove, then pile on the broad bean mixture. Shave pecorino or Parmesan over the top and serve immediately.
The outer skin-slipping step is fiddly but necessary — the skin is bitter and papery; the inner bean is sweet and vivid.
2. Courgette, Lemon and Ricotta Pasta
20 minutes, serves 4
This is a dish that relies on caramelising the courgette properly, which means not crowding the pan and being patient.
Slice 4 medium courgettes into 5mm rounds. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in your widest frying pan until very hot. Add the courgette in a single layer (do this in batches if needed) and cook without stirring for 3–4 minutes until golden underneath. Flip and cook another 2–3 minutes. Season with salt and set aside.
Cook 400g of pasta (rigatoni works well). Reserve a mug of pasta water. Toss the pasta with the courgette, 250g of ricotta, a handful of grated Parmesan, the zest of a lemon, and enough pasta water to make a loose creamy sauce. Finish with fresh basil and black pepper.
3. New Potato, Radish and Dill Salad
25 minutes, serves 4 as a side
This is the potato salad that works as a barbecue side without being mayonnaise-heavy.
Boil 750g of British new potatoes until just tender. While hot, dress with 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar (the hot potato absorbs dressing far better than cold). Allow to cool to room temperature.
Add a bunch of sliced radishes, 3 tablespoons of crème fraîche, 2 tablespoons of wholegrain mustard, a large handful of chopped dill, and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust. The mustard-dill combination works particularly well with grilled sausages or fish.
4. Chilled Cucumber and Mint Soup
10 minutes plus 30 minutes chilling, serves 4
The British tend to think of soup as a winter dish. Cold cucumber soup is one of the most refreshing things you can eat when it's warm, and it takes almost no time to make.
Blend 2 large cucumbers (peeled and roughly chopped), 400ml of natural yoghurt, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a small clove of garlic, a large bunch of mint, the juice of a lemon, and a generous pinch of salt. Blend until completely smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes, then serve in cold bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and a few mint leaves.
5. Strawberry and Tomato Salad with Burrata
10 minutes, serves 4
Strawberry and tomato sounds wrong. It is unexpectedly right.
Slice 400g of ripe British strawberries and 400g of mixed tomatoes (halved or quartered depending on size). Arrange on a plate. Tear over 2 balls of burrata (or buffalo mozzarella if burrata is hard to find). Dress with 3 tablespoons of good olive oil, a tablespoon of aged balsamic or a generous squeeze of lemon, flaky salt and black pepper. A few torn basil leaves finish it.
This works because both fruit and tomatoes are at their best right now, and burrata's cream softens the acidity of each.
6. Grilled Courgette with Tahini and Pomegranate
20 minutes, serves 4 as a side
Slice 4 courgettes lengthways into 8mm planks. Brush with olive oil and grill on a ridged griddle pan or on a hot barbecue for 3–4 minutes per side until charred and softened.
Mix 3 tablespoons of tahini with the juice of a lemon, a small crushed clove of garlic, and enough cold water to thin it to a pourable consistency. Drizzle over the courgette, then scatter with pomegranate seeds and a handful of toasted pine nuts.
7. Runner Bean and Chorizo Sauté
20 minutes, serves 4 as a side
Runner beans come into season in July and are often overlooked. At their best they are sweet and slightly crisp — nothing like the grey childhood memories some people carry.
Top, tail and string 500g of runner beans. Slice on the diagonal into 3cm pieces. In a wide pan, fry 150g of sliced cooking chorizo until the oil runs. Add the runner beans and cook for 5–6 minutes over medium heat, turning regularly. Add a splash of sherry vinegar and a pinch of smoked paprika in the final minute. Serve warm.
8. Whole Roast Salmon with Herbs and Lemon
35 minutes, serves 6
Summer is the right time for roasting a whole fish. It requires almost no technique beyond not overcooking it.
Ask your fishmonger to gut and scale a whole salmon (around 1.5–2kg feeds 6). Slash the skin at intervals. Stuff the cavity with lemon slices and a mix of fresh herbs — dill, tarragon, parsley. Rub the outside with olive oil and season generously. Roast at 180°C fan for 20–25 minutes until the flesh flakes easily near the backbone.
Serve with the new potato salad from recipe 3 and some dressed watercress.
9. Peach and Almond Galette
45 minutes, serves 6
This is the simplest fruit tart you can make, and when British stone fruits are at their peak in late July and August, it is one of the most satisfying.
Mix 150g of plain flour with 75g of cold butter (rubbed in to breadcrumb stage), a tablespoon of icing sugar and 2–3 tablespoons of cold water. Bring together into a disc, chill for 15 minutes. Roll out roughly on baking paper to about 35cm diameter — irregular edges are the point of a galette.
Spread the centre with 3 tablespoons of ground almonds mixed with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar. Arrange thinly sliced ripe peaches (4–5) in overlapping layers, leaving a 5cm border. Fold the pastry border over the edges of the fruit. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and scatter with flaked almonds. Bake at 190°C fan for 30–35 minutes until golden.
10. Eton Mess
10 minutes, serves 6
No summer recipe collection is complete without it. The point of Eton mess is the same as all the best British summer food: minimal intervention on genuinely excellent ingredients.
Hull and roughly crush 500g of British strawberries with a fork, leaving some pieces chunky. Add a tablespoon of icing sugar and the juice of half a lemon. Whip 500ml of double cream to soft peaks. Roughly crush 6 meringues (make your own or use good ready-made). Fold everything together loosely — you want visible layers, not a homogeneous pink cream. Serve immediately or within an hour; it does not keep well once assembled, which is fine because it won't last that long.