The ideal summery Sunday lunch

Five months in to our move to the USA and we are well and truly settled, despite my regular trips home for work. Every time I travel I think I've found the solution to jet lag only to find myself wide awake at 3am. Being torn between the familiar and new horizons requires a whole lot of balance, which is something I often struggle with. I think it's human nature to search for the things that make us feel safe and secure and this is certainly true when you find yourself 10,000 miles from home. My wife, Sofie, who has lived in Dublin for the past 10 years, has pined for her home in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the monthly pilgrimage to Ikea for crispbread and Kalles cod roe (don't ask!) is akin to my stockpiling of proper Irish porridge oats and packets of cheese and onion crisps.

Sunday lunch has always been a tradition growing up and while we might be short on the guest list out in LA, that doesn’t stop me wanting to cook up a feast to celebrate the week’s end with new friends.

For starters, a spring/early summer salad of burrata cheese and grilled asparagus. Finding good quality burrata is possibly the most difficult part of this recipe. Best enjoyed fresh, essentially it’s a ball of mozzarella with a core of cream and shreds of straciatella cheese. Devoured with bread, fresh summer tomatoes, torn basil leaves and a drizzle of the best-quality extra virgin olive oil it is a treat. Served with grilled asparagus and the following accompaniments, it becomes a feast.

For an impressive main course, a wildly different Sunday roast from the one I grew up with, this simple method of spatchcocking (or splitting the chicken down the middle and flattening it ) results in tender meat that cooks much more quickly. Serve it with a pearl barley salad spiked with feta and red onion and homemade spicy hummus.

As show-stopping desserts go, a lemon curd cake wins hands down every time. Two light vanilla sponge layers, sandwiched with sweet buttercream all lusciously spread with lipsmackingly sweet, yet tart lemon curd. A truly heavenly bake.

Whether searching for a regular routine or simply a menu for the family to feast upon, these recipes should provide inspiration.

Burrata, grilled asparagus & lemon & chilli pangratatto

As starters go, this one is perfectly simple and relies on the quality of the ingredients rather than intricate cooking techniques. The only real cooking requirements are to char the asparagus and toast sour dough breadcrumbs until crisp and golden to form a spicy pangratatto to be sprinkled for texture.

Serves 4

• 2 bunches asparagus spears, ends trimmed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3-4 balls burrata cheese
• 150g prosciutto
• 25g pine nuts, toasted
• Sea salt and ground black pepper
• For the pangratatto:
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 slice stale sour dough bread, whizzed to rough bread crumbs
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 sprigs thyme, leaves finely chopped
• 1 small handful flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
• Extra virgin olive oil, to serve

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a generous seasoning of sea salt and ground black pepper. Add the asparagus spears and toss to coat completely. Set aside.

For the pangrattato, heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Fry the sourdough crumbs until just starting to colour, then add in the chilli flakes, garlic, lemon zest (leave a little to garnish) and herbs and continue to cook until the crumbs are toasted and golden and the other ingredients are aromatic. Remove from the pan and allow to cool on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

When ready to serve, heat a large griddle pan and fry the asparagus until tender with deep char marks. If the asparagus spears are particularly large add a splash of water to the pan and cover with a lid until cooked through.

Arrange the cooked asparagus spears in a line on a serving platter and top with the burrata balls, prosciutto slices, pangrattato and pine nuts.

Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest.

Serve.

Turmeric & ginger spatchcocked chicken, pearl barley salad & hummus

It may look like a lengthy recipe but many of the ingredients are storecupboard staples and if making hummus is too far a stretch, simply buy some good quality from the shop.

Serves 4

• 1 x 1.5kg free range chicken
• 4 onions, sliced in quarters, roots trimmed and in tact

For the hummus:

• 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp tahini paste
• 1 large garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Juice of ½ lemon
• A good pinch of sea salt

For the marinade:

• 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, finely grated
• 1 thumb-sized piece fresh turmeric, finely grated
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1/2 tbsp each of cumin, coriander, cayenne, smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 3 tbsp neutral flavoured oil

For the pearl barley salad:

• 250g pearl barley
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 oranges, segmented
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 200g feta cheese, crumbled into chunks
• Large handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
• Large handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine – if it’s too thick, loosen with a little extra oil as it should easily coat the chicken.

To prepare the chicken, place the bird breast-down and, using a knife or a sharp scissors, cut along either side of the back bone to remove it. Open the bird out and flip it over breast-side up and, using your fist, push down hard on the breast to break the bone. Toss the spatchcocked bird and red onions in the marinade and leave for to marinade covered in the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Scatter the onions over the base of a large roasting tray. Place the chicken on top and cook in the oven for 45 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Prepare the hummus by placing all the ingredients in a food processor and blitzing until completely smooth. If the hummus is too thick, loosen to a smoother consistency with 1-2 tbsp of water.

For the pearl barley salad, place the pearl barley in a pan and cover with water. Place over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 50 minutes, or until the grains are tender and all the cooking liquid has been absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and any leftover orange juice from the segments. Season to taste. Add the pearl barley and remaining salad ingredients and toss to coat. Cover and set aside.

Once the chicken is cooked through, slice into portions and serve with a splodge of hummus and a generous side of pearl barley salad.

Lemon curd cake

This lemon sponge is light, airy and so moist because of the tangy lemon curd and buttercream filling. The recipe, was inspired by a lemon cake I was treated to after a visit to the nuns at Kylemore Abbey, while filming a TV series a few years ago.

45 mins

Serves 8

For the sponge:

• 225g butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 large free range eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 210g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Zest & juice of 1 lemon
• About 3 tbsp of milk to loosen batter
• For the buttercream:
• 300g butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 520g icing sugar, sifted
• For the lemon curd filling (or 2 cups store bought lemon curd):
• 300g caster sugar
• 50g cornflour (corn starch)
• 120ml lemon juice (about 2–3 lemons)
• 4 large egg yolks
• A pinch of salt
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 60g butter

To Finish:

• Dusting of icing sugar

For the lemon curd, place the sugar, cornflour and 450ml water in a large saucepan and stir until you have a smooth mixture. Stir in the lemon juice, egg yolks and salt. Place over a medium heat and keep stirring while the mixture boils, for about 10–12 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and butter until the butter has melted, then remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease and line two 21cm springform tins. In a standalone mixer, cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until pale and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs one by one before adding the vanilla extract and lemon juice.

Using a spatula, fold in the flour and baking powder until you have a smooth mixture. Use a little bit of the milk if you need to loosen the mixture. You want the mixture to be a bit loose.

Divide the mixture into the two springform tins, flatten the top with a spatula if needed. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until it’s nice and golden. When the bases are cooked, take them out and let cool for a few minutes before you take it out of the tin to cool completely.

While the bases are cooling prepare the buttercream filling by beating the butter and vanilla extract together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Then add the icing sugar, a little at a time, until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

To assemble the cake, spread some lemon curd on one of the bases before topping with buttercream, then add the second base and sprinkle with icing sugar.